For Better Or For Worse
by NALEY23alwaysforever
Summary: Summary: Haley James has been best friends with Nathan Scott, Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, Lucas Scott , Jake Jagielski and Julian Baker for 17 years. When Haley goes through something that leaves a permanent reminder in her life, can her friends help her through it? And will Nathan be able to be there for, always and forever like he promised? NALEY, Brucas, Jeyton. COMPLETE!
1. This is my story

For better or for worse ch 1

Pairing: naley, undecided if Brucas and jeyton or brulian and Leyton.

disclaimer: the only thing I own is the story idea. All characters and anything else affiliated with one tree hill belong to mark Schwann and others.

A/N: before you start, pleae be advised this chapter has mentions of rape and abortion, I promise it's not a dark story but it does start off with this so if it makes you uncomfortable maybe just skim through the story.

Chapter One: This is my story

My name is Haley James. I am 16 years old. I have 6 best friends, Brooke Davis, peyton sawyer, Lucas Scott, Julian baker, jake jagielski, and Nathan Scott.

3 months ago something happened to me. Something that changed my life forever.

This is my story.

...

This all started off 3 months ago. It was late, really late at night. I was walking home from Brooke's. Her parents were arguing and they told me to get out, as they usually do when they're arguing about something big. Brooke was going to walk me home, but I told her id be fine. maybe I should've taken her up on her offer, I could've avoided all this.

It was a 30 minute walk home. But, I was feeling lazy that day I would take the back roads to cut time. And that's when he came. Troy bentley, the school jock, the guy who I thought was a good guy. From what I knew about him, nothing like this had ever happened before with him. He was clearly drunk, or drugged, or maybe both. Everything I learnt in my self defence seminar at school evaded my mind.

My instincts kicked in and I tried to scream, but I was too late by that time. He had already got his arm right around my neck, covering my mouth. I remember him slurring some words, probably threatening me. I tried to move, I hit him in his stomach but he didn't let go of me, instead he punched me, really hard in the jaw. He pushed me up against the wall and raped me.

That was three months ago.

I told my best friends, it was a bit hard to keep it from them. I didn't feel comfortable calling my parents, I didn't want to upset them. So I called my best friend, Nathan. I've always been closer to Nathan than any of my other friends.

He took me to the hospital and called the rest of "the seven" so they could be there for me. They helped me to get through most of it, but I had to tell my parents.

There was crying. Lots of crying, mostly by my mother. My dad just kept apologising, he felt bad he couldn't come and get me that night because he got called into work.

They helped me to press charges against Troy, but he was never convicted. It turns out I was right, he was high that night, he'd been an addict for 18 months and O.D'd before he could be convicted. It was innocent at first, apparently he had been using 'study pills' so he could stay awake and cram for his exams, but then it turned a bit darker for him, the drugs had their hooks in him, and they wouldn't let go. The guys he was hanging out with - his so called 'friends' - didn't help the situation either.

I've been doing a lot better now. Now that troy's no longer an issue in my life and my friends and family know the truth. The first month was the hardest. It got really dark. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. The only person I really let in was Nathan. He had moved into my house when our parents decided to travel the world together, so that we could look out for each other, and so our parents wouldn't worry about us while my parents were stopping in to stay with each of my siblings for a couple months over the last year, before travelling to meet Nathan's parents at their vacation home in London.

I had finally convinced mum and dad I was ok enough for them to go back on the road, especially since I had Nathan staying with me, and my friends were starting to treat me like I wasn't made of porcelain. After after all this, after things were FINALLY starting to get back on track, life just decided it wanted to throw me for another loop. I was pregnant. Yes, I, Haley James, senior student, tutor girl, with the teachers pet attitude and 4.0 GPA, most likely to be valedictorian, was 3 months pregnant. And considering I'm a virgin there was, unfortunately, only one possibility for who I was impregnated by.

And so here I am, sitting in My living room, curled up in the foetal position, clinging to my blanket as if my life depended on it, waiting for Nathan to get home so I could figure out what I would do.

I knew I couldn't have an abortion. Even if this pregnancy wasn't planned, and was the last way I would ever imagine conceiving a child, I couldn't have an abortion, my heart and head were both in agreement over this. So I had one of two options, keep the baby, or give them up for adoption.

As I was contemplating my options, making mental pro-con lists, the door opened and in walked Nathan.

"Hales? You home?" He said as he walked through the hallways.

"Hey" I whispered dejectedly.

"Haley? What happened? How'd it go with the doctor, did they tell you why you've been feeling so sick?" He asked, worry filling his bright blue eyes.

"Nathan" I began as I sat up and sniffles before continuing "I have something to tell you, and I'm not sure what to do"

"Hales you can tell me anything, you know I'll always be there for you. Always and forever right? Now tell me, what's going on?"

I took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm pregnant."


	2. Modifications of the truth

For better of for worse ch 2

A/N: this part of the story is in Nathan's POV. Buber with me, I just need to lay some stuff out and next chapters will be where things really pick up, I promise :)

Modifications of the truth

"pregnant?" Did I hear her right?

She rolled her eyes, a typical move for her.

"Yes Nathan. Pregnant, bun in the oven, knocked up." She continued

"This isn't a joke Haley." I replied before beginning to pace back and forth in front of her. "How could this happen? I mean, I know how it could happen but -" I was rambling. It wasn't that I was nervous but it was just so unexpected. Haley James, 4.0 GPA, future valedictorian, and mum?

"Haley, what are you gonna do?" I whispered, afraid to ask because I knew what her only two options were.

"I don't know. I don't know if I can handle being a mum to this child. All I can think of is when he or she is older and asks me where their dad is. I don't want my child to know about the ways in which they came to existence. But I don't think I could give up my child and know that they were out there in hashtag world wondering about me, and I know if be wondering about them. What they look like, what their hobbies are, if they have a good home."

I sat down beside her and held her frame hands within mine. Urging her to look at me. "I don't know if lim strong enough for this Nathan." She said, hurt voice breaking at the end as a tear rolled down her beautiful face.

"Haley, don't cry. We'll figure it out. Everything's gonna be okay." I reassured her and pulled her into my lap to hold her as she began to cry.

I feel like I should explain. Yes I've been best friends with Lucas, Brooke, peyton, Haley, Julian and jake since we were the age of two. Our parents were all friends. And yes, most people knew that out of all my best friends, Haley and I were the closest. But what most people didn't realise were that I realised about three years ago that I was in love with Haley.

I'm pretty sure that I've loved her all my life, but I never really saw it until that dickhead Troy Bentley started taking an interest in her. I knew she hated him. But I became really overprotective, more than I usually was with her. And one night we were both sitting on the front porch of our house and she had thanked me for protecting her, and for always being there for her. I looked into her eyes and just knew.

I was and always would be in love with Haley James. Always and forever.

That's what I promised her when we were 6, that we'd be there for each other always and forever. And we had been, and I buried my feelings all this time.

Why, you ask? Because I may be in love with Haley, but I don't know if she's in love with me. Sure I could've asked, but I was too chicken, yes it's true, I, Nathan Scott, captain of the he ravens, good looking ladies man, future NBA prospect, was afraid of getting my heart broken by me best friend.

But then again, wouldn't you be? Haley was the most beautiful, breathtaking woman I had ever had the privilege of knowing and more than that, being friends with. I knew that if she rejected me, I would never fully recover. So I hid my feelings until I could be absolutely certain that she was either:

A) in love with me

B) not going to destroy my heart if she rejected me.

I was brought out of my thoughts by her angelic, now slightly sniffling voice.

"Sorry, I'm practically using your shirt as a tissue over here." She half laughed.

"It's ok hales, and no matter what you know I'll be there for you. No matter what you decide with this, I'll always support and protect you. You know that right?" I replied.

"I do Nathan. And as hard as it's going to be, I want to keep the baby. I just feel like that's what my heart is telling me to do, and that my head may just be agreeing. I'm sorry, I know this is going to be difficult I mean I'm going to be all hormonal and moody and then there'll be a crying baby in house and I know you didn't sign up for any of this so if you want to leave you I won't -" she was rambling, and it was adorable, but I had to interject.

"There's no where else I'd rather be hales. I will be here all The way through this, I'll support you. You're my best friend Haley where else would I be? Besides, someone's gotta show the kid how to be cool," I smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

I felt her start to laugh and for a minute I began to relax, until I felt her body tense above me.

"Nathan, what am I going to tell people!? I mean, I know our friends and my family will understand, but no one else knows what happened! What am I supposed to do, school starts back up next week!" Crap, I had forgotten about that little road bump.

I knew all the people at our school would judge Haley. Try would think she just went around and slept with some random guy and got knocked up. They'd bully her, and single her out. They'd look down on her, and that wasn't what she deserved. There was another option though...

"I'll do it." I said.

"Do what?" She replied.

"Be the father."

"Nathan you can't..."

"Why not? Hales people already think we're together because I live at your house and -"

"Why would people think that!? Can they seriously not just believe that people can live I a house together without sleeping together!? How can they say-" there she goes again...

"Haley! That's not the point. Look, I want to do this for you. You've helped me so much over the past years, you supported me when I emancipated my parents, you convinced your parents to let me live here so I could save for college and look after you while they were gone. You tutored me for free because you knew I was failing classes and therefore could get kicked off the team." This list would be never ending, Haley literally saved my life, multiple times. I owed her my life.

"This is the least I can do for you hales, let me do this. I'm gonna be the kids uncle and let's be honest, since I'm already gonna believing with you guys the kid and I are gonna be close. Why not just make us closer?"

"Nathan, I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position. What if you change your mind?" She reasoned.

"How could you think that? Haley, I promised you always and forever and that isn't going to change. Let me be the father, you know it's the only way to do this. And if you're pregnant with my kid, and that we've been secretly dating, people are less likely to ask you questions about how you get pregnant." I reasoned back.

"Ok, we can say that you're the father, and that were together. But I'm serious about this next part Nathan, if this gets to be too much you can back out, I won't think any less of you."

I smiled, "Hales, have some faith in me. I'm not gonna back out" I knew she wasn't questioning me as a person, I knew she was just worried about what I might feel when all of this started happening. But either way I was in it for the long haul. She's my best friend and I love her. No way was I letting her do this on her own.

"So, were really doing this? Are we crazy?" She asked me, leaning her head against my shoulder.

I turned and kissed her forehead. "No we're not crazy, honey." I smirked.

She fake groaned, "crap. I've gotta kiss you now?" She said pretending to be disgusting.

I laughed awkwardly. I gotta admit, even if she was joking.

It still kinda hurt.

A/N: ok, I know it's a tad bit slow. But stay with me. I just needed to lay down some ground info first. And... To popular demand, pairings will be Brucas and jeyton, will brulian being part of their friendship group as well. He date a different character, we'll see. Please review and let me know what you think guys!

\- maddie


	3. Friends will always be there

For better or for worse chapter 3

3\. Friends will always be there

**A/N: hey guys, so I figured I should mention that Lucas and Nathan's storyline is slightly different. Yes they're both still related****, but Keith and Karen 'confessed their love' for each other and got married and then had Lucas around three months before Nathan was born and. Keith and dan don't have a bad**** relationship and Dan is slightly less of an ass than in a show. He's only really an ass when being protective of his family, he'd more of a family man in their :) And Keith is still very much alive!**

It had been about an hour since Haley and Nathan had discussed her pregnancy and him being "the father" and now she was trying to keep her nerves at bay realising she had to tell her friends tonight. They were all meeting up for their usual Friday night dinner, it was a tradition their parents had started as a way for the families to always see each other even with their hectic schedules, and now their children had continued the tradition. They were all meeting in Karens cafe soon.

Haley was nervous. She sat on the couch, cuddled into Nathan's side, figuring out exactly how she would tell her friends about her situation, and even more so about how Nathan would be helping her out with said situation. She knew Brooke and Peyton - more so Brooke - would have a field day when she told them Nathan would be acting as the father of her child.

Both girls knew about hales harboured feelings for Nathan. She hadn't had a crush on him since she was 10 years old, and her feelings had only grown stronger as their friendship developed, and when he moved in with her. But she was too scared to tell him, she knew he didn't feel the same way - no matter how much Brooke and Peyton tried to convince her otherwise - and she didn't want to risk ruining their friendship when he rejected her.

Nathan sensing her stress, pulled her further into him to the point where she as pretty much in his lap and gently stroked his hand up and down her back as she laid her head on his chest.

"They're our friends Haley, they've always supported you and you know they'll stand by you through this pregnancy and they'll understand the decision we've made about what to tell everyone. There's no need to be worried." He spoke softly, desperately trying to calm her down.

"I know that, but it still doesn't stop me from being nervous." She said back.

"Well we've got 30 minutes until dinner, so how about you go take a shower and try to relax. We'll leave in about 15 minutes, sound good?"

"Yeah" she spoke as she got up from his embrace, much to both of their dismay.

Nathan walked up stairs with her, and was about to walk towards his room when her timid voice stopped her.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah hales?" He turned around.

"It's going to be ok right? I mean, everything's going to be ok isn't it?"

He walked back to her and wrapped her in his embrace, kissing her foreheads one more. "Yeah hales, everything's going to be alright" it has to be, he thought.

"Come on. Let's go get ready." He spoke again, as she looked up to him and smiled.

•••

Nathan and Haley entered Karen's cafe at precisely 7:00 o'clock on the for. Walking hand in hand towards their usual booth, they smiled seeing their friends laugh animatedly at Jake's attempt to be a walrus by sticking two straws in his mouth.

"Jake sweetie you're such a dork" Brooke teased, the groups laughter only increasing at jakes overdramatic pout.

"Yeah but he's my dork" Peyton replied, kissing her boyfriend passionately.

"Can we keep the PDA to a minimum?" Nathan said, alerting his the large group to his "I think hales and I can both agree we'd like to keep our appetite." He smirked.

The group laughed as Nathan and Haley sat in their spot, greeting their friends as honey went.

"So..." Brooke began "how's everyone been" she said, eyeing Haley.

"Here we go again" Haley muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Nathan to hear her.

Brooke had always been a bit of a 'mama bear' with Haley. While she knew that Haley was strong and could more than take care of herself, she always had a soft spot for her tutor girl, and since the events if three months ago, Brooke's protective best friend mode was in 'full-on' mode.

Before haley could start up an argument with Brooke, Nathan swooped in. Z"pretty good actually Brooke. I totally kicked both your boyfriends asses in NBA live." Nathan smirked proudly, knowing he would easily be able to deflect Brooke's interrogation of Haley.

Brooke kinked her eyebrow and replied "don't your mean your brother slash both your best friends?"

"Eh, they're alright. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call them by best friends..." He joked.

"Well I'm glad I'm not a part under the category of both your boyfriends, does that mean my best friend title is still in place?" Julian joked.

"Don't worry JuJuBee, we'll find you someone" Brooke teased, using the childhood nickname his mother had donned him with.

Julian simply glared at Brooke before looking towards Haley.

"So hales, my fellow tutor-nerd. ready for school next week?" Julian asked.

"Jules I've been ready for the past month!" She exclaimed. "Don't you know me at all?" She joked.

"So does this mean you're feeling better now?" Lucas asked, the group had all been well aware of how sick Haley had been over the last couple weeks.

Haley simply rolled her eyes in response "you guys worry too much, I'm perfectly fine. It was just a bit of a stomach bug like I said it probably was!"

Nathan could see she was becoming agitated at being the focus of tonight, so he casually put his arm around her and changed the topic "so what's everyone eating tonight? I'm not sure if I want onions rings or fries with my burger."

There was an extremely audible groan from everyone at the table. Every dinner they had Nathan and Haley always got the same thing. Nathan would always toss up between onion rings or fries, and eventually him and Haley would compromise that he could get onion rings and she'd get fries with her mac and cheese, and they'd share half their meal each.

Haley quickly waved the waitress over and ordered for them before heathen could out any more thought into. Nathan smiled, his heart warming at the fact that she knew him so well. Then again, 'best friends' know everything about each other. He thought bitterly. How long would they only be best friends?

The group settled into a comfortable silence while eating, with only some slight conversation in between mouthfuls.

They soon left their booth to enjoy their ice cream on the roof of Karen's cafe like they did every Friday, a part of the tradition which they had added on from their parents' one. On the roof there was a miniature golf course on one side which haley's parents had made for the group one Christmas when they were six. Over the years the families had developed it, adding glass walls so nobody would a fall over but could still enjoy the view, bean bags and chairs and a small storage unit with a little old TV and DVD player for the kids to use, as well as blow up mattresses, pillows and blankets for when the kids decided to have sleepovers up there.

The group all huddled up on their respective bean bags and couches, the couples spoon feeding each other ice cream (much the the dislike I've Julian, Haley and Nathan) while the other three sat eating their individual tub of Ben &amp; Jerry's, occasionally trading tubs to see which person picked the best flavour.

The group were now engaged in some light conversation. Haley slowly leaned into Nathan, resting her head on his should as she whispered into his ear "I think it's time." He nodded in understanding and laced their fingers together as she cleared her throat.

"Uh, guys...there's something I need to tell you all." She spoke shyly, almost afraid.

"What is hales? You can tell us anything." Brooke stated worriedly, the last time a conversation started like that Haley had been raped. Brooke was praying with every fibre of her being that this time it was something good, or at least not as bad as that.

"Well, it's kind of crummy news, but it's also kind of good when you think about it, and in know it'll come as a it of a shock but I hope you guys can be as supportive of my decision as Nathan is because I really am ok with the choice I've made I just really want you guys to -"

"Hales, why don't you just tell them what's going on and before they self combust from worry and anticipation." Nathan said gently as he squeezed her hand and stood up next to her.

Haley took a deep breath in and looked towards her friends "I'm pregnant. And I'm keeping it. And yes it's from that night and I know it's seems a bit strange but I'm just not comfortable with my other options. So I'm keeping the baby." She quickly spat out.

They all just stood there. Staring. Questioning whether or not what she was saying was a joke.

"Well. Anything else we need to know hales?" Peyton spoke first.

"No. Oh wait yeah! Nathan's gonna be the father!" She remembered.

"Ok!" Brooke interjected "now I'm confused, I thought you said the baby was from that night." Brooke asked.

"well you see -" Haley struggled to find the right words. How did you explain to your friends that your best friend was going to pretend to be dating you so that people at school would understand how you got pregnant and wouldn't think you were just some slut who hooked up with random guys and got pregnant?

"Basically Haley realised that people at school wouldn't know how she got pregnant because no one knows She's the victim who pressed charges against Troy before his death. We knew people would just be nosy and ask questions, so I told her we could say we were dating and that the baby was mine. It made sense seeing as how I live with her and people already assumed we were dating because of that, and not to mention since I'll be living there I'm going to be this baby's family. As will you guys" Nathan exaplained.

"I really hope you guys can be supportive of this. I feel it in my heart, this is what I have to do." Haley explained to them.

"I just have one question." Lucas asked Haley.

"Anything"

"Who's going to be godparents? Because I totally call dibs." He smirked.

"No way! You're already technically the kids uncle with Nathan being the father. It should be me or Jake!" Julian interrupted

"Um ok boys, just as long as we all know I'm the godmother. No offence but you're too dark and twisted. You'll freak the kid out." Brooke retorted.

"Hey! Eh who am I kidding. I'd rather be the kick as aunt who buys the kid alcohol underage than the responsible godmother" Peyton joked back.

"Whoa whoa whoa hold on! You guys are really okay with this? And with me and nathan having this whole kind of fake family?" Haley couldn't believe her eyes, as could Nathan.

"Look hales. It sucks what happened to you. And if you're seeking us if we'd prefer this reality, or the one where none of this happened to you. Hands down it would be the first one" jake started "but these are ether cards you've been dealt. And you're our best friend. Of course we'll be there. Besides who else is going to make sure the kids not just a bookworm?" He finished, a hint of humour lacing his eyes towards the end of his speech.

"You guys seriously are the best friends — no. The best FAMILY I could have ever asked for. I love you guys." Haley said, tears filling her eyes as Nathan wrapped her in his embrace.

"Ok enough of this sappy stuff, group hug!" Brooke yelled, as they all swarmed Haley and Nathan.

"I told you it'd be fine." Nathan laughed.

"I know. You were right." Haley replied.

"I'm sorry could you repeat that please?"

Haley shoved him as best as she could while in this tight as a cocoon group hug.

"Not a chance Scott." She said smirking herself.

"You're going to be fine hales. Now tell us, do you know the sex yet? Oh my gosh we have to go shopping!" Brooke squealed as the whole group groaned.

"Cheery, let's just enjoy tonight. You can worry about shopping tomorrow. Deal?"

Lucas asked.

"Deal" she replied leaning over Peyton to give him a kiss.

The group then untangled themselves and resumed watching their movies, Only Brooke noticing the way Haley was sitting snuggled up in Nathan's lap, while he rubbed her back and gently kissed her forehead.

"Peyton!" Brooke whisper-shouted, nudging kicking Peyton in her back as she was sitting with jake on the floor Informtion of Brooke of Lucas.

"What!?" Peyton said in the same tone.

Brooke subtlety pointed to Nathan and Haley and whispered "there is so much more going on there, more than even they know."

"You know what Brooke? For once I think you may be right" Peyton said smiling up at her best friend.

**A/N: hope you guys enjoyed it! I should also mention that Nathan isn't really as much of a "player" as he was in the start of the show, he's a pretty decent guy since haley's been his best friend all his life and has a positive impact on him as well as the others in the group through out their friendships.**

**Not sure if I'll be showing much of the pregnancy, might do one month for every one or two chapters. Not sure yet. Let me know what you think, and if there's something you'd liked to see in the story I'm open to suggestions**.

\- **maddie**


	4. School

For better or for worse ch 4

School's in session

The past week had flown by. Brooke, as promised, had dragged Haley and the whole group out to shop for baby clothes and other baby needs. Nathan had slowly started to spread the word of his and haley's relationship. And now came the day Haley was dreading.

The first day of senior year.

It's not that Haley didn't like school, she loved it. She didn't however like the people at her school. Most of the people that were friends with her were trying to get access to their group, or more specifically, Nathan. But Now, Haley knew that she would be one of the most hated girls in school for having "bagged" Nathan Scott.

And to make matters worse, her morning sickness would not let up. The doctor had prescribed her some medication to take since it was getting worse, but it hadn't kicked in yet.

"Hales?" Nathan said, brushing the hair out of her face "we have to get going soon, will you be alright?"

"Yeah, just give me a couple minutes for my stomach to settle down." She replied.  
"Do you need me to get you anything?"  
"Just some water please."

Nathan kissed her forehead and headed to the kitchen. He knew that Haley didn't want to have everyone knowing about her pregnancy right away, but her constant nausea was going to make that difficult. People could only believe she had the stomach bug for so long before suspicions would arise.

Walking back towards the stairs Nathan noticed Haley sitting in the lounge room, ready to go. "Feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think the medication is finally starting to kick in. The doctor Said it should last for about 4 hours before it starts to wear off so I should be good until lunch." She informed him.

Nathan nodded, handing Haley the glass of water, and went to collect his school bag. When he returned they got in his truck and headed to school.

The drive was silent, the music playing softly over the stereo. Normally Haley would protest Nathan playing his "horrendous rap music" but she was too busy in her own thoughts to even notice today.

When they arrived at school, they were less then surprised to see that their friends were already waiting for them, since they all parked in the same place every year.  
Brooke had launched herself at Haley the moment she got out of the car, swinging her around on her feet as she hugged the girl.

"Tutor girl! I missed you so much!" She squealed  
Haley simply laughed "Brooke you saw me three days ago."  
"Well it's three days too long! And how is my little niece or nephew treating you?" Brooke asked the last part in a softer tone.  
"He or she is treating me fine, the morning sickness was rough earlier but I took the medication the doctor gave me and it's helped."

The group then walked towards their usual table to hang out, all having first period off. Nathan and Haley however, didn't sit with the rest of their group.  
"We'll meet you guys later. We have to go and talk to principal turner. He said there was some more information he wanted to go into detail about with us." Nathan explained

Nathan and Haley had gone into school after telling their friends about Hales pregnancy. principal turner already knew about what Troy had done to Haley, and was more than happy to help Haley be able to complete her senior year, he was a bright student, one of his favourites if he were honest. And while he was one of the few who knew Nathan wasn't the father, he was happy to help them keep their secret, he remembered how people were in high school.

Their meeting went fast, both Haley and Nathan received passes so they could come and go from class for any reason relating to the pregnancy. Their teachers were also informed of haley and Nathan's situation so that they would allow them to leave early and arrive late to classes, as well as emailing them their work should they miss any classes.

They were soon seated back at their table with their friends, joking about and making light conversation, when they heard a shrill squeal behind them.

"Natey!" Nathan squirmed in his seat, holding tightly to Hales hand.

Rachel gatina. Their whole group hated her. She was bitchy, slutty, uptight, and insanely infatuated with Nathan.

"So are these pathetic rumours true? You're really dating Whaley over here?" Rachel said, flicking her head towards Haley.

"It's Haley and yes, I am" Nathan replied, trying to keep his cool.

"She's just jealous he picked Haley over her." Brooke muttered to the group

"Please! As if I would ever be jealous of HER. She's got nothing on me." Rachel replied facing Haley now and saying "you look like you gained a few there Haley. All that holiday pudding?"

"Fuck off Rachel! No body likes you, especially not Nathan and if you can't handle that then that your problem, but just leave us the hell alone, nobody wants you here in case you didn't notice!" Haley yelled, standing up so she was in the other girls face.

Rachel was surprised, Haley never used to stand up for herself like that before. She huffed and got ready to leave, but not before placing her hand on Nathan's shoulder and whispering "call me when you get bored of her"

Brooke stepped in and yanked Rachel arms away and pushed her off towards the cheerleaders, knowing that if she hadn't Haley would've decked the red headed bitch.

"Pull anymore shit like that with my friends again Rachel and I'll kick your ass off my squad" Brooke replied before sitting back down and putting her arm around Haley.

"You ok there Bob?" Brooke asked

"Yeah tigger, thank you" Haley replied sincerely, placing her head on Brooke's shoulder "I just want her to leave us alone."

**A/N: ok I know the ending was a bit crap but I wanted to post as soon as I could, I probably would've been done days ago with this chapter and onto the next, but my mum accidentally deleted this chapter. I was just lucky I had backed it up so I only had to redo a little bit of it. Have a good week and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in the story. I promise Rachel will not be gone just yet, she's got something big up her sleeve :) PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. fake hair, fake heart

For better or for worse ch 5

**A/N: first little scene is kind of Rachel's perspective, but more so of what she's thinking, not actually the story being told from her view. Enjoy!**

Fake hair, fake heart

Rachel Gatina was fuming.

She couldn't believe she let that little Whaley push her around! She walked down the school corridors, soaking up all the lustful eyes that glued to her, as she tried to think of a way to get back at Haley and her little group.

She was taken out of her thoughts when she heard someone throwing up as she entered the girls bathrooms. Being the gossip queen she was, she listened in, seeing if it was someone with some nasty virus, or bulimic. She loved to let other people secrets spill out. She got some kind of satisfaction from manipulating and exploiting people. She was sure there was some reason that, deep down, most likely was because of her parents. But she didn't really care. She loved being a bitch.

However, the hushed voices were two she never thought she would hear.

"Hales, are you good now?" She heard Brooke whisper.

"Yeah, the baby's just making me really nauseous." Haley replied, so softly Rachel could just barely make out what she said.

A baby? No wonder Nathan was still with her. Sure they were best friends but she never though he'd actually sleep with her. And why would he pick Haley over her?

_'Oh revenge is sweet. Just you wait Haley James. Just you wait.' _Rachel thought as she quietly stepped out of the bathrooms.

—

"Are you sure you'll be alright Hales? Principal turner did give you that pass so that if the nausea got too bad you could leave" Nathan said as he tucked Haley under his arm while they walked to their study spot.

"I'll be fine Nathan. I've taken the medication and we have a study period now for your tutoring lessons so I've got time for them to kick in and I should be good until we get home." Haley replied.

If she was being honest, she was tired. REALLY tired. But she didn't want to say anything. She needed to be at school, it was senior year after all, her grades had never been more important.

She knew that if she told Nathan she wanted to go home, he would go with her, and he had been working himself into the ground with school, basketball and looking after her. She didn't want to add anything more onto his plate.

"Okay, but if it gets worse, let me know straight away. Whitey knows everything anyways so he won't oppose to me cutting out of practice to take you home." Nathan and Haley had agreed to tell whitey everything, he was like family to the whole group, having coached Nathan, Lucas, and jakes parents when they were students as well.

"Nathan I'll be fine seriously! Look, let's just work on revising for your algebra test, you've got to get 60 or higher and I'm confident with all this extra work you've been putting in you can get within the 70-80 mark range." Haley said, veering the conversation away from her and focusing on him.

Nathan chuckled As they sat down in their usual bench under this tree with the most beautiful purple wildflowers falling from it.

"You, Haley James. Have too much faith in me."

"I have exactly the right amount of faith Nathan. You're the one who needs to believe in yourself, you can do it and you know it." Haley replied gently, squeezing his hand as they settled down and started their tutoring session, oblivious to the smile that graced Nathan's face as he lovingly looked at her.

—

The group couldn't believe their eyes.

They had all decided to meet at Nathan and Hayley's tutoring spot before walking to the cafeteria, but stopped short upon entering the hallway.

Posters flooded their vision, and whispers from hushed voices invaded their ears. Everyone knew. _'This is officially a nightmare' _Haley thought.

"Who the hell did this!?" Brooke yelled, gaining most of the people's attention around her.

"Me" they heard, turning towards the red haired girl.

"Rachoe, you're about to need to buy a new nose. Again." Brooke said as she lunged towards the girl, grabbing her hair but not much else as Lucas grabbed her, and jake grabbed Peyton.

"It's not my fault really. You shouldn't have been so loud in the bathrooms. I can't help my hearing." Rachel replied innocently.

"No, but you can help your big mouth!" Nathan yelled, he was seriously pissed Rachel had gone this far. And for what? Just because he didn't want to sleep with her? He loved Haley, pretty much everyone knew that except for Haley, and apparently Rachel.

The yelling between Brooke, Nathan, and Rachel ceased as they notice Haley pick up the poster nearest to her on the floor. She had to admit, Rachel had done a good job, hitting the nail on the head with 'social embarrassment'. The poster was simple, One of the many photos of Nathan and Haley over the years, looking at each other kind of sweetly, with a baby photoshopped in between them. The caption: 16 and pregnant

"Points for originality" Haley retorted sarcastically, shoving the poster in Rachel's hands.

"I try" Rachel said smugly, the girl was good. She could easily stand up against this girl, however she underestimated how pissed Haley was.

"Are you happy now Rachel? Did you get whatever satisfaction it was that you were looking for?" Haleys voice raised slightly towards the end of her sentence, startling Rachel.

"Ecstatic" the red head replied happily "now you know just what I can do when when you cross me." She finished, crossing her arms over he chest defensively.

Haley shoved the girl, causing her to take a step back, "you think you accomplished something? That you beat me? Let me tell you something Rachel, all you did was show everyone just how much of a fake hearted bitch you are!" Another shove, Rachel wasn't sure what how to react.

"So what, people know I'm pregnant? It was never a secret! My teachers knew, my friends knew, I'm just not a gossip who loves attention like you! The best part is I feel sorry for YOU. You did all this just because MY boyfriend wouldn't sleep with you. You did all this just to mess with us, we'll guess want Rachel, it didn't work. You can't so with your hair, and your face, and your boobs, but you can't mess with me!" Haley said shoving Rachel against so she was up against the wall.

"I'm going to say this once, so listen up before the hair colour seeps into your brain. BACK. OFF." Haley said, as Nathan tugged gently on her arm, pointing her towards principal turner, who had come out during the whole argument.

"Ms James? Mr Scott? Ms Gatina? Care to explain what's going on?" Principal turner asked, clearly not happy.

"Rachel just wanted to publicly 'congratulate' Nathan and Haley on their pregnancy sir." Brooke sarcastically spoke up, placing a poster in the mans hand "I think you'll understand as to why they, as well as their friends, will be going home now. We wouldn't want to cause another scene." Brooke finished sweetly, walking past her principal and fellow students, throwing eye daggers at Rachel as their group walked past.

—

"I can't believe her! I'm going to wring her scrawny little neck out the next time I see her!" Brooke spoke, pacing around in front of the group.

They had decided to head to the roof of Karen's cafe, not wanting to go home to one of their empty houses, since all their parents were currently together in Florida enjoying their beach houses. They still called to check in on their kids while on their world tour, but the group as used to being just the seven of them, and their parents knew they wouldn't get into trouble. Well, too much trouble.

"When she's through with us she'll be needing a whole new face, not just her nose." Peyton sneered, as Brooke fist bumped her and sat down on the floor next to her and in front of Lucas who was sitting with Jake on the couch.

"I appreciate the gesture guys, but seriously, all I need you guys to do is leave her alone. Avoid her as much as possible because lord knows that's what I plan on doing." Haley spoke up, laughing at the gaping mouths of her two best girl-friends.

"Hales! There's no way Rachel can get away with this. I mean, what they're planning might be too much, but I for once agree with Brooke and Peyton, she has to pay." Jake spoke, Lucas nodding his head in agreement.

"I dunno" Nathan spoke from his spot on the hammock with Haley nestled in his arms "I think Haley handled Rachel pretty well today. Hopefully she'll learn to finally back off. Who knew you were so badass hales. It's kinda hot" Nathan joked.

"Ew! Can you guys at least wait until you get home to go all naley on Sunday?" Brooke asked, faking disgust.

"I'm sorry, naley? What the heck is that!?" Haley asked.

"It's your couple name. The 'n-a' from Nathan, and the 'l-e-y' from Haley. Naley" Lucas spoke.

"Wow Luke, who knew you were so in touch with your feminine side?" Julian called out from his spot on the bean bag, receiving a round of laughter form the group.

Lucas flipped him off "talk to me when you get yourself a girl jules." Lucas replied.

"As fun as this has been, I think I'm going to head home, I'm exhausted." Haley started, getting up to give everyone a hug goodbye.

"As much as I love you guys wanting to defend me, please don't do anything to Rachel. Hopefully she'll back off now, and if she doesn't we'll deal with it then. But for now, just leave it be ok tigger? You too blondie, promise me." Haley sternly told the two girls.

"Fine" they both glumly replied, resembling four year olds who were told no dessert.

Haley simply laughed "I'll see you guys for breakfast tomorrow, 7:30, Nathan and I'll make our special waffles" she spoke, smiling as everyone's face lit up at the prospect of Haley and Nathan's delicious waffles.

"Wait, I'll come with you." Nathan spoke getting up.

"Nate it's fine I'll just meet you at home." Haley replied.

"Hales it's going to be dark soon, the Sun's starting to set and it's not safe, and besides I want to talk to you." Nathan said, beginning to feel nervous. The whole group smiled at one another, having already been told by Nathan that he was going to tell Haley about his feelings for her.

"Alright then let's go" Haley smiled.

He intertwined their fingers and led her down the stairs and out the door of Karen's cafe.

_'Here goes nothing_' he thought to himself.

**A/N: OK, so I know there was quite a bit happening in this one but I just kind of wanted to get it all out of the way and not take up too much of the story with Haley trying to hide the pregnancy and all the Rachel drama. There won't be too much drama for this story, it's pretty happy just one of two bumps along the way. Review and favourite and let me know what you think I really value your opinions :)**

**\- Maddie**


	6. Can't fake it anymore

For better or for worse ch 6

**A/N: so I amended something from chapter one. Nathan is not emancipated from his parents, but he's living with short since her and Nathan's parents are travelling the world together. And I also forgot to mention Nathan and Lucas are cousins, not brothers. Keith and Karen are Lucas' parents, which is why his last name is till Scott.**

**Hope you like this chapter, enjoy :)**

6\. Can't fake this anymore

Nathan and Haley walked down the quiet streets of tree hill on their way home. Both were acting lightly awkward.

Nathan, because he was nervous about what telling his feelings.

Haley, because she was worried about what Nathan had to say, spreading having a feeling about what the topic of conversation was. Nathan broke the silence first.

"Look Haley...ugh, I don't know how to say this. I don't want to screw it up." He spoke, laughing at the end.

"Nathan. I already know what you want to talk about." Haley said, trying to make this easier for him.

"You do?" He was completely thrown off by that._ 'How the hell did she know!? Oh god this isn't going to go good'_ He thought.

"Yeah Nathan I know you. I get it, and you don't have to apologise. It's my fault I should never have agreed to letting you do this when I knew it would put so much pressure on you -" Nathan stopped her there.

"Haley what are you talking about?" He was beyond confused at this point.

"You don't want to be my fake boyfriend/father of my child anymore. Which I totally get, especially after everything that happened with Rachel and everyone at school -" once again he cut her off, laughing loudly much to her confusion.

"Haley. You're right, I can't be your fake boyfriend anymore. I can't fake all this. But not for the reasons you think." He started to explain.

"Nathan you really don't have to explain I'm not upset-"

"I love you."

And there it was. He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but he knew Haley would just ramble on forever if he didn't stop her.

Haley was elated. But she couldn't help the doubt in her mind.

"Nathan. Are you sure? I mean, you could just be confused. With all the faking we've been doing you could just be confusing yourself."

"Haley, I first noticed you when we were 10. I mean we'd been best friends since we were six, but something about us just changed. After we went to that horror movie, remember? You got so scared you cuddled into me trying to hide yourself, to the point where you were almost sitting in my lap. You were so frightened, and it felt good - it felt right protecting you." His courage was building as he saw Haley smiling as they reminisced

"I remember. That's the exact moment I fell for you. And I still haven't gotten up" he joked at the end. "And I guess...if you don't love me then that's fine. I'll still help you with all of this but I can't fake this anymore without you at least knowing what I feel is real." He finished.

"I think the first time I noticed you was when we were eight." She smiled as she saw his eye light up realising where she was going "Deb dropped us at the ice cream parlour to meet all our friends, and of course being the people they are, completely forgot and thought we were meeting at the cafe. I remember you let me order, and I got you mint chocolate chip, and I got whatever flavour I was bold enough to try." She heard him laugh as she retold the story.

"I gave it to you and said 'your favourite' and you...you laughed. I was so confuse, ad time we got ice cream you always got that flavour. Since we were seven you've always done, still to this day. And I remember asking you why you were laughing and you said, you always got mint chocolate chip because it was my favourite, and I always hated what I bought so you got that one to swap with me, because you had to look out for your best friend." She smiled, tears threatening to fall.

"That's when I fell for you Nathan. I love you, I've loved you for so long and I was always scared to say anything, you're my best friend and I knew my heart, and possibly Our friendship, wouldn't be able to take it if you didn't feel the same way." She finished.

He didn't speak, and she grew more nervous, she looked down to the floor, thinking her confession and scared him off, and turned to walk away when he grabbed her and gently turned her back to face him.

"Say it again." He whispered

"Say what?" She answered coyly

"Haley!" He whined

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck as he placed his around her back, gently resting them near her hips arm interlocking his hands at the back.

"I love you, Nathan royal Scott." She smirked, knowing how he hated his middle name.

He groaned "I love you, Haley BOB Scott." Haley groaned even louder as Nathan laughed,

"Ugh, Seriously! I love my parents but can they at least give me a chance? It's so awkward having to explain to people how you have a predominantly male name, because your parents thought you were feisty and stubborn, which reminded them of their old cat when you were born. I'm already from a weird family and -"

She was cut off as his lips crashed onto hers. He didn't push for more, but when he felt her hands wrap around his neck tighter as her tongue gently traced his lips, asking for entry, he didn't deny her. He knew she was still fragile from everything that she'd been through, so he let her set the pace, content with finally being able to kiss, and confess his love for Haley James. He was pretty sure he'd died and gone to heaven.

They broke apart when air became an issue.

"I love how you ramble Hales-" he started as he took in a breath "but I've wanting to do that since you said you loved me." He smiled.

She pecked his lips once more.

"You know, I could get use to this. I'm glad we're finally here Nathan."

"Me too babe." He whispered in her ear as he placed one arm around her and she snuggled into him, the two walking home content, both happier then ever.

—

"Seriously where are they? We've been waiting forever!" Brooke groaned as she sat with Lucas, across from peyton and jake, with Julian and his new girlfriend Lara at the end facing the window, leaving the other end for Nathan and Haley.

"Brooke. We've been here ten minutes." Peyton retorted, secretly amused with the brunette.

"Haley said her morning sickness had gotten really bad, that's probably why they aren't here yet." Alex said, trying to reason with Brooke.

The whole group genuinely like Alex. She had transferred to tree hill high from Wilmington three months ago, and Julian had fallen for her. Hard. They dated a week after her moving to the school, but they had only 'confirmed' their relationship was serious about two weeks ago. Alex hadn't known about the social status of the group when she started dating Julian, so the group knew she wasn't using him, and she was genuinely kind to all of them, and never pried into their business like the other people that tried to date one of them to get into the group.

"You're right, as usual, I'm freaking out over nothing. She's probably just feeling really nauseous. It's only been ten minutes." Brooke spoke to no one in particular, purely trying to calm her nerves. She always worried about Haley. Even before Troy, guys always took advantage of her emotionally. She was kind and trusted people, always wanting to be a friend to everyone. But, it almost always backfired. The amount of times Nathan had a 'discussion' with a guy who hurt Haley was often.

"It'll be fine pretty girl, stop worrying so much. She's with Nathan, you know he'll protect her." Lucas said, rubbing his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"He better, or his ability to procreate will be loooong gone." Brooke said, mock glaring as her friends all laughed.

They all turned their heads as the bell on top of the door rang, and in walked a flustered Nathan and - surprisingly - Haley.

"Hey guys" she said as Nathan and Haley fist bumped/ kissed their friends on the cheeks greeting them "sorry, I overslept. If it weren't for Nathan I would've been late to school!" Haley said

"Did I just hear right?" Jake spoke, his voice conveying his surprise "Haley James overslept. Babe, the world must be ending." He spoke in an over dramatic voice.

"Haha" Haley deadpanned, mock outing as Nathan laughed and put an arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"What happened Hales? You normally don't even need an alarm." Brooke inquired.

"Oh, my body's just all out whack with this pregnancy, and my pillow was really comfy" Haley smirked, looking towards Nathan.

When they had reached home both decided to talk in Haley's room and then. Go to sleep. But as Nathan was about to leave to go to his own room, Haley asked him to stay with her. She knew she couldn't handle a lot of intimacy due to past events, and she knew Nathan wouldn't push her, but she still wanted to be close to him. So, they snuggled up together, Haley using Nathan as a pillow, laying her head on his chest.

Both were so comfortable, if Nathan's alarm hadn't been set on his phone, they probably would have slept like that all day.

"I guess I can forgive you guys for that." Brooke said sarcastically "but you guys need to hurry up and pick out what you want to eat cause we've been waiting for oh u before Karen placed our order, and I'm starving!" She whined.

Nathan and Haley laughed, quickly choosing to split their meals - as usual - of chocolate chip pancakes and waffles, with hash browns and bacon.

The group were engaged in conversation about what Rachel had done as Karen came over, hearing the end of the conversation. Handing out their food she whispered to Nathan and Haley as she bent down in between them

"I heard about what Rachel did from some of the staff workers who go to the school. Im sure you guys are handling it, but don't do anything silly ok? I know she hurt you and I'm so sorry about that I really wish it hadn't happened but I know how Brooke and Peyton can get. If you need help dealing with her tell me ok?"

Haley smiled, Karen, as well as the rest of her friends parents, had been like another mum for her whole life. "Thank you Karen, I really appreciate that. But I a,ready talked to Brooke and Peyton and we've agreed that unless Rachel pulls anymore of this crap, we'll leave it be. Principal turner had walked into the hallway when she admitted to doing all of that 'fine handiwork' of hers, so he'll find an appropriate punishment for her." Haley reasoned with the older woman.

Karen smiled, content with bakers answer. Just. Enforce she got up she quickly whispered to them "and congratulations, I saw you too outside yesterday" winking at the couple, she got back up and walked over to serve another customer.

Haley blushed and hid her face in the crook of Nathan's neck as he chuckled.

"That was fun" he stated laughing harder as she hit his chest.

"Seriously babe! I can't believe she saw!" Haley exclaimed, realising her mistake as the unmistakable sound of six sets of cutlery dropped to the table.

Both Nathan and Haley turned to look at their six friends, all opened mouthed and eyes wide, and laughed harder.

"Did you just call him babe!?" Brooke squealed "you guys got together for real didn't you!" She whisper-shouted

Nathan smiled as he laced his hand with Haley's, "yes, it'd official. Haley and I love each other, and we're together for real now."

They both gripped each other as their group all whooped and squealed, as they formed a massive group hug around the couple who were still sitting down, as there was a mix of shouted "it's about time"s and "we thought you'd never have the balls to say anything"s.

The group then say down and finished their breakfast before heading to school. Both Nathan and Haley were especially nervous, not knowing exactly what they could expect after yesterday, but knowing that, no matter what, there was no going back now.

It was going to be one hell of a day.

**A/N: so there you go, naley feelings are out and now...? Well I'm not actually sure where I'm going with the story, I know how I want it to end and I have bits and pieces sorted but the whole storyline is yet to be determined, I sort of just start writing the chapter and see where I go with it :) hope you guys enjoyed, let me know what you think about Lara and what she should be like, and also let me know of anything out want in the story and I'll try and accommodate it!**

**Please review and favourite/follow**

**\- maddie**


	7. Falsely accused (part one)

For better or for worse ch 7

**A/N: sorry this took so long! Special thanks to guest(s), Thibbs65, dianehermans, naley12 for your continuous reviews thank you! Longer note at the end please read :)**

**Enjoy!**

7\. Falsely accused (Part one)

Nathan and Haley walked into the hallway hand in hand. They had promised each other they would stand by one another, and they knew that everyone would be talking about them and their secret relationship and pregnancy. All the school gossip sites had been posting things since the second the posters were put up, claiming they 'knew all along' which both nathan and Haley found hilarious.

They took an odd comfort in the ludicrous facts and rumours that surrounded their relationship. Of course, there were also a fair share of hateful comments, mostly from girls who had wanted Nathan and we're now resentful that Haley had him.

Haley was nervous. Nathan could feel her palm sweating inside of his larger one. He brought their hand up to his mouth and kissed herd gently, giving her a smile as she looked up at him lovingly,

Haley felt calmer as soon as Nathan's lips pressed against her hand. It always amazed her how natural it felt between them, like they had been together for years,_ I guess that what happens when you're best friends for years first_ Haley thought to herself.

They were both very thankful for their group of friends, who walked beside and behind the couple, protecting them from some of the hateful glares and hushed whispers surrounding them as they moved towards the principals office.

"You ok?" Nathan asked her.

"Yeah, just nervous. I wish we knew what Turner wanted." Haley replied.

Principal Turner had called the James household to inform Haley and Nathan that he needed to speak to them first thing Monday morning about an issues that had been brought to his attention.

The group stopped, some sitting down on the chairs and some standing outside the principals office. Haley and Nathan sat next to each other, still not letting go of one another. Haley blew out a breath, and ran her free hand through her hair as she tried to calm herself.

"You guys should go, we don't know how long this will take and you have class to get to." Nathan suddenly spoke to the group

"It's fine Nathan, I don't think it's the first time we've ever skipped a class if you remember correctly" Lucas replied, joking at the end in an attempt to lift the slightly tense atmosphere surrounding them.

"No" Haley spoke "Nathan's right, you guys need to get to class. Principal Turner won't let you stay out here for us. We'll be fine."

"Tutor girl, it's-" Brooke started but was cut off

"Seriously Brooke it's fine, I've gotta get used to facing things like this without you guys there to hold my hand, I'm 17 for crying out loud, I'm not that fragile." Haley snapped, regretting the words as they came out of her mouth.

The whole group looked down to the ground, trying to get passed the awkwardness

"I think what Haley was trying to say was we appreciate your support but we gotta do this on our own" Nathan stated, as he felt Haley squeeze his hand tighter in silent thanks.

The group nodded and stood up preparing to make their way to classes before the bell rang, Brooke bent down and gave Haley a hug, whispering in her ear

"You're my family Hales, I'm only being protective because I care about you."

"I know Brookie, I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap, but you've gotta let me stand on my own two feet sometimes ok?" Haley said back

"Deal" Brooke smiled as she waved goodbye "look after her Boytoy!" She yelled down the corridor.

Nathan groaned and leaned back in his chair "does she really need to call me that?"

Haley laughed as she leaned in towards him, placing her head on his chest as he kissed her hair, she replied "well what do you expect? If you strip down and write Boytoy on your chest it's bound to stick."

"It was for charity!" He defended

"Babe, selling yourself for a date was charity. The strip tease was stoking your ego." She smirked

Nathan smiled and pinched her side, resulting in a high patched yelp to escape her mouth.

"Who knew I was dating a comedian?" He joked

They both relaxed as they waited for principal Turner to call them in. Haley started to twiddle her fingers as her hands rested in his.

"Relax Hales."

"What?" She asked surprised

"You're twiddling your fingers, and you're starting to hum les mis. It's hat you do when you're nervous. Relax. He probably just needs to talk about our schedules or figure out a part of our arrangement with school and the pregnancy." He reasoned as he placed one arm around her body, holding her close.

"Or he could be coming to tell me I've been expelled because of my behaviour yesterday with Rachel." Haley retorted.

"Doubt it Hales, expulsions too rash, a detention, maybe suspension?" He laughed as she whacked his side.

"Who knew I was dating a comedian" she mimicked his earlier words as she laid her head back on his chest, his heartbeat calming her nerves.

That was, until the door opened.

Turner came out exchanging pleasantries with the pair and shaking hands, as Rachel and an older man walked out of her office. Neither failed to see the devious smirk Rachel sported.

"Haley, Nathan. Why don't we talk in my office?" Principal turner spoke as the couple got up, unprepared for what was next, but both knowing.

This isn't good.

**A/N: hey lovely readers I hope you're all still with me! So sorry it's been a few weeks I've been getting back into the swing of things with school, I've actually had most of this chapter written since January 25th but didn't know where to end. It's 10:50pm here in Sydney and luckily I have a study period tomorrow in which I will write the next part to this chapter. I will be trying to post AT LEAST once a week :)**

**Also, as Thibbs65 asked (Julian would be great with Alex or Lindsay) I changed Julian's girlfriends name from Lara to Alex :)**

**Please leave a review and hope you guys have a good day/night wherever you are :)**

**Leave any suggestions or questions in your reviews if you've got any!**

**\- maddie :)**


	8. Stand strong together (part two)

For better or for worse ch 8

Stand strong together (part two)

"Unfortunately there's been a complaint." Principal turner started off, as he crossed one leg over the other in his chair.

Nathan and Haley sat across from him, not letting their grip on each other's hand loosen. "What kind of complaint? Against us?" Nathan asked

"Well...yes. But unfortunately these complaints are targeted more towards Ms. James."

Turner shifts in his chair, uncomfortable with the whole situation. He knows that Nathan and Haley are good people, but unfortunately he has to be unbiased in the issue.

"Ok, well what are the complaints? I'm assuming that Rachel is somehow involved in this too?" Haley questioned.

"Actually" Turner said as he passed her a piece of paper "while she is technically involved in the complaint, her father, the man who was with her, is the one who filed the complaint."

Nathan and Haley looked at the sheet in Haley's hands "he wants to make a formal complaint to the school stating that I verbally and physically abused his daughter!?" She read out

"Sir that's completely false and you know it! You saw what happened, so did at least half of the student body and the teachers!" Nathan was yelling at the top of his lungs now

"Nathan, I understand this situation is ridiculous, but you need to calm down." Turner spoke in a stern voice.

"Nathan was seeing red at that point, but felt himself instantly calm down when Haley's hands ran up and down the middle of his back in an attempt to calm him down. And it worked, he took a depends breath, closing his eyes for a second before speaking again.

"How can they do this? They can't serious be pressing legal charges, Rachel provoked her."

Haley could see Nathan trying to control himself, and decided to jump in, explaining the events of the afternoon to principal turner.

Turner knew that they were telling the truth, but he didn't know how he could help them

"Unfortunately, Rachel and her father seem determined to make sure you're punished, even if you didn't really do anything wrong." He started

"But are they legal charges, or just within the school system?" Haley was worried, she already had enough going on, and Rachel knew she was just adding more to Haley's plate.

"No they said they wanted you to 'pay for your actions' but they didn't specify, and as the principal I make the decision on what the punishment will be, and I can assure you i won't be making this a legal matter." Turner started to explain.

"There will be a student behavioural meeting, in which there will be able to get two people who were there during the incident to explain what they saw to me. You can pick one person, and so will Rachel. Unfortunately though, even with this procedure, there is a possible risk of suspension."

"Suspension!? But this is my senior year. I'm trying to get a scholarship, a suspension CAN NOT be on my record." Haley said, feeling herself start to get upset.

"Unfortunately, both of you could be suspended. Our school rules do mention that if a student feels that they are not safe around another student, they can request that the student be made to stay at home until the issue is resolved. But with that, we have online video access to each classes through our school intranet, and any hard copies of work can be given to a friend in your class to give to you." Turner finished.

Nathan and Haley were both reeling. They knew Rachel was a bitch, but to mess with Haley's education, the possibility of both her and Nathan to get a scholarship to college, something they both desperately needed? She was pushing the line.

"Is there a way that we can receive this 'suspension' of sorts, without it being placed on our school records?" Nathan asked.

"We can give you the suspension, and it will be on your records, but the rules allow us to remove it after a month if you appeal to me. Don't worry, we'll remove it as soon as possible, I don't want this to jeopardise your chances of scholarships." Principal turner smiled.

"Thank you, sir. I really am sorry to put everyone through this. I just didn't handle my emotions very well." Haley said

"Hales, you didn't do anything wrong! Rachel provoked you, she's the one who brought this all on herself. She can't get away with this. Can't we put some charge against her? Or at least make a formal complaint?" Nathan said, directing the last bit to principal turner

as turner was about to speak, Haley interjected.

"Nathan no. We're not fighting back. I just want to leave this be, and move on from this."

"Haley we have to do something!" Nathan said getting frustrated with her

"No. That's final. Thank you for your time principal turner, please let us know when we'll be having the meeting." Haley said, standing up, shaking principal turners hand and walking out the door.

Nathan sighed before following her out.

—

Nathan and Haley were now in society and culture, which was alertly 'bludge' subject.

Haley however, was trying to focus on the class today. She know she could pass this subject in her sleep, but if she looked like she was making notes then at least she wouldn't have to talk with Nathan about their meeting with turner.

She felt a note drop into her hand on the desk, breaking her out of her reverie. She opened it up and read it

_**Why won't you consider filing a complaint? Just explain it to me ~ N**_

Haley sighed, looking towards Nathan, who was staring at her with pleading eyes.

She scribbled down on the piece of paper then threw the note back at him.

_**I just don't see the point. I just want to move past all this ~ H**_

Nathan sighed, he knew she wasn't telling him the full truth, she said the same thing to him earlier and he could see it in her eyes, there was something else.

He scribbled back on the paper, knowing he only had a few minutes until the end of class._**I know you're not telling me the whole truth, you think I don't know you after 10 years? We'll talk more later.**_

Nathan passed the note, but he couldn't just leave it at there, he didn't want the. To have this tension between them all day until they talked.

He quickly threw another note.

_**I love you**_

Haley smiled at the note, feeling her eyes start to glisten with tears. _Damn hormones_

Haley thought to herself, she had been on a daily emotional roller-coaster, and Nathan being so sweet to her wasn't helping her annoyance with him for trying to get her to retaliate against Rachel. She knew he just wanted to understand, but honestly, she didn't have the answers herself.

At least she had until the end of lunch to think about it. She was broken out of her reverie by Nathan wiping away the stray tear rolling down her cheek. She looked up to his smiling face, as he kissed her cheek where the tear was.

"You ready to go babe?" He asked

Haley grabbed her bag and stood up, giving Nathan a quick kiss before responding

"Yeah, let's head out to lunch."

—

"Haley you can't be serious!" Brooke whined.

Nathan and Haley had informed the group that complaints had been makes against the both, and that Haley could potentially be suspended. However, once she told that no one was to do anything to Rachel, the group were upset.

"Hales, you know I'm normally a peaceful person, but I'm with Brooke. Rachel needs to be taken down." Jake spoke up

Haley just groaned and placed her head on Nathan's shoulder. He was being surprisingly supportive since she knew he was slightly upset with her too, although she just put it down to him wanting to know her reasoning more than being kept with him.

"Guys, let's just see how far this goes. Yes, I may not be completely comfortable with this situation but I support Haley if this is what she wants to do, and as her friends you should be too." Nathan interrupted the friends

"Nate's right. Sorry Hales" Lucas sighed. The whole group nodded and engaged in a different conversations.

Haley lifted her head up and kissed Nathan's chin close to his cheek, smiling against his skin. "Thank you" she whispered.

Nathan smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered "we'll get through this. Together."

**A/N: sorry it's a day late but I had a little trouble with where to end off. Haley will explain a bit more why she wants to let this crap with Rachel go in the next chapter.**

**I promise it'll be up within a week since I'm already working on it :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND FAVOURITE! Thanks to Thibbs65 and naley12 for their reviews in the last chapter it means so much to me.**

**\- maddie**


	9. we're taking a break

For better or for worse ch 9

**A/N: don't be disheartened by the title! A little bit more fluff than usual, Enjoy :)**

9\. We're taking a break

Haley smiled as she brushed her hair thinking about how she got to this night, Nathan had left her a note in her locker, simply saying he was taking her out tonight and to dress "beautiful. Well even more beautiful than normal"

She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.

She had chosen a red halter neck dress, which dipped slightly lower than Haley would normally wear - thanks to Brooke and peyton - and had paired it with short black heels and took a black cardigan in case it got colder tonight.

Brooke had begged her to wear higher heels and s red "seductive" dress, but Haley was adamant on dressing slightly more in the comfortable side, since she didn't know where Nathan was taking her.

She had begged him to tell her when she called him earlier, but he wouldn't budge, taking pleasure in the fact that she hated surprises.

Still, she couldn't help but feel slightly excited by the prospect of tonight. It had been a long time since they had gotten to be together, out of the house, just the two of them. Probably since before they started dating.

Haley was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the doorbell. Squealing, she grabbed her purse and sweater and ran to the get the door. Opening the door, she first saw roses, Nathan had lifted them up to his his face.

"I really hope that's you behind there Nathan, cause if not I'm slamming the door shut and calling the cops ." Haley spoke jokingly.

Nathan pulled the roses down from his face and gave her a smile.

"Hey beautiful" he said as he leaned in and kissed her.

"Hi" she replied as their lips met.

They walked inside and into the kitchen so Haley could put the roses in water.

"You really do look amazing Hales." Nathan commented

"Thanks baby" she replied "you don't look too bad yourself"

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her temple softly as she leaned into him, both enjoying the silence.

After a few minutes he moved away from her, intertwined their hands and led her to the car, heading off the their destination.

...

"Nathan this is ridiculous!" Haley exclaimed as they drove.

Nathan had insisted that she wear a scarf around her eyes so she couldn't see where he was taking her, he knew she didn't like surprises, and he was going to make sure she couldn't find out what this one s until they are there.

He turned the corner and parked, reaching over he undid her seatbelt "just a couple more minutes, were here." Haley could practically hear the grim in his voice.

He ran around to her door and got her out, holding her left arm with his left hand, and wrapping his right arm around her waist so he could guide her.

"There's three stairs so go slow" he said into her ear as he lead her down.

"Ok" he spoke again "we're here"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Haley ripped the scarf off from around her eyes. "Oh my god" Haley whispered in awe.

Nathan had taken her down to the docks, to their table there and had placed candles and roses all around the area, and had food from the restaurant on the docks as well.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously.

"Like it? I love it, Nathan this is amazing!" Haley said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Nathan reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her slightly off the ground.

He placed her back down, removed his lips from hers and led her to the table, sitting across from her like they always did.

"How did you do all this?" Haley asked as they ate their main, Mac and cheese - Haley's favourite.

"I may have forgotten to mention that dad's friend is on the council, and he pulled a few strings. I figured we could celebrate Valentine's Day. A week later." He added smiling at her.

"Well it's wonderful, thank you." She said as she reached across the table and placed her hand in his.

"You're welcome Hales, I just figured it'd be nice to take a break from all the drama and problems and just have a nice romantic evening, just the three of us." He replied

"Three? Is someone else coming?" Haley replied confused.

Nathan just smirked and directed his eyes towards her stomach "yeah, but not for a couple months." He chuckled.

"Oh" she replied, feeling the blush creep up her face. "Pregnancy brain?" She offered

Nathan laughed "babe, people don't normally have that until the last couple months of the pregnancy. Hey, turns out those pregnancy books you gave me came in handy." He retorted as they both laughed.

The two continued to eat, light conversation flowing constantly between the two.

When they finished their meal, they walked down the pier, hand in hand, to the ice cream shop. Nathan went inside and ordered for the both of them, and met Haley out on the railing of the pier. They both stood in peace, looking out at the water and continuing their conversation.

Later, when they had reached home, they decided to put on a movie and cuddled up together in Haley's room.

"You know" Nathan started "we should probably get a move on doing the baby's nursery. Although I don't know where we'll put his or hers room, considering we only have three bedrooms and your parents still come home so they need the master."

"We'll just use your room." Haley said, eyes still on the TV

"Uh...and where am I going to sleep then?" Nathan replied.

"You can just move into my room" Haley replied shyly, eyes glued to the TV now, she didn't want to see Nathan's face, scared he not reject the idea.

"Hales?" He gently grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at him "is that something you want?" He asked, concerned he might be pushing her.

Haley sat up and grabbed his hand "yes Nathan, I may not be ready to have sex considering recent history, but I am comfortable with this. I like falling asleep next to you, and knowing you're the first thing I'll see when I open my eyes in the morning." She said, suddenly feeling very shy.

Nathan kissed her forehead "I'd like that too" he smiled "i just didn't want you to feel that you have to do anything before you're ready, even something like this. Promise me though, if you start to feel like we're going to fast, you'll tell me? I can always stay in your parents room or something. I just want you to be comfortable ok?"

Haley smiled, she couldn't believe that he was really hers, and vice versa. She never wanted this to end.

"I promise" she whispered as she turned of the TV and placed her head on his bare chest, as he wrapped his arm around her torso and both fell into a peaceful sleep.

**A/N: ok I know a bit fluffy and kind of not really with the story but I wanted to add a little kind of valentines chapter in. Well get back into it all next chapter. Just to warn you there may be a time jump of about a month or two max gotta speed this pregnancy along :P**

**Question for any readers I may have, do you have a preference of boy or girl for Haley's baby? And do you have any ideas for their name?**

**Please leave a review or send me a PM if there's anything you want to see in the story or anything!**

**\- Maddie**


	10. love rectangle (without the plus one)

For better or for worse ch 10

**A/N: so...I was amused to add some more Brucas in, so we're doing a little bit of a Brucas storyline in this chapter too. And as mentioned there's about a two month time jump, just so things don't get too slow! Enjoy!**

10\. Love rectangle (without the plus one)

Haley was sitting on her bed, reading a magazine. It was Sunday, and Karen had insisted she take the day off and relax, so Nathan had brought her home and told her to relax upstairs while he made lunch.

She smiled to herself at the though of Nathan. She finally got her chance with him, and it was everything she had wished for and more. She rubbed her protruding belly, she was now 6 months pregnant. She had no clue where the time had gone. Nathan had officially moved into her room with her, and they had started on the nursery, setting up a crib, change table, dresser, and a wooden toy box for the copious amounts of toys and play sets from his aunt Brooke and peyton, and uncle Luke and Jake.

She and Nathan had even picked out names. Megan/Grace Brooke Scott for a girl, Ryan/Ryder lucas Scott for a boy. They were still debating over the first name, and since they wanted to wait to find out the sex, they wouldn't be able to make a permanent choice until Haley had the baby.

She looked down at her phone and smiled noticing she had a text from her mother Lydia, who had sent a photo of herself with her dad Jimmy, and Nathan's parents, with the message: _we've finally reached london! How's shacking up going? I showed Deb all the photos from our visit, she's ecstatic about you two! We're planning to come down when the baby comes. Love mum_.

She laughed at Deb and Lydia's insanity, they had been planning Nathan and Haley's future since the two were born, saying that they always knew the two were 'destined for each other'. She remembered her parents surprise visit and how ecstatic her mother was.

—

_Haley had woken up in Nathan's arms, his chest to her back and his arms wrapped around her torso. She smiled as she turned her head slightly to look into his eyes._

_"Morning gorgeous" he whispered as he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek_

_"Hell of a wake up" she smirked as she turned back to look out the window, the two content in their position._

_"Well well" Nathan and Haley both jumped and turned around at the sound of Lydia James' voice._

_"Isn't this a sight for sore eyes" Jimmy James added in._

_"Deb! I found him, say hi to Deb children" Lydia spoke, trying desperately to hide her amusement and excitement of the situation._

_"Mama! What are you doing here!?" Haley jumped out of bed and rushed into her mothers arms, as Nathan stood and shook hands with Jimmy._

_"Well we've finally visited all six of our not so little devils and their children. Figured we'd come see you, you know...start with the oldest and finish with the best." Lydia smirked as she hugged her daughter tighter, she had missed her so much these past few months._

_Haley felt tears prickle behind her eyes and sniffled, trying to keep a hold on her emotions. Stupid hormones, that was one thing she would be bald to have control over after this pregnancy was over._

_"So! I guess we know which parent she loves most lyd" Jimmy James joked from beside his wife. Haley and Lydia laughed as they disentangled from their hug and Haley walked over to her fathers embrace. "I missed you too daddy" she smiled and leaned in to kiss her father cheek, then stood next to Nathan, who placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close._

_"So what have I missed? How's the trip?" Haley asked, hoping to distract her parents._

_"Oh no you don't young lady. You know how long I've waited for this!" They heard debs voice over the phone. "Whoops, forgot you were there for a second!" Lydia laughed and pulled the phone back up to so Deb could see her son and Nathan and squealed in excitement._

_"You know, most parents would be disapproving of seeing their kids in bed together. I think we're the only people who have parents that celebrate." Nathan joked looking down at Haley._

_"Well babe, we come from weird families. This kid never had a chance." Haley joked back as Nathan placed his other hand on Haley's small belly._

_"Ok! Family conference now! I want to know everything that's happened. Lydia take me to the living room! Dan get over here!" Deb commanded._

_..._

_"So?" Deb spoke. Lydia had set up her iPad to FaceTime Deb and Dan, so they could both see Nathan and Haley._

_"So...what?" Nathan provided, enjoying making his and Haley's parents squirm. They'd all waited a long time for this and Nathan and Haley were going to have some fun with them._

_"How 'bout you Hun?" Lydia asked her daughter "you got anything to say?"_

_"I got an A in English Lit." Haley answered_

_"Haley Bob!" "Nathan Royal!" Both teens winced as their mothers used their middle names. "Don't you dare try and avoid the subject! We've been waiting 16 years, put us out of our misery already!" Lydia screamed in frustration._

_"Alright alright! No need to pull out the middle names! We're together, happy!?" Nathan said with a smirk._

_The room went silent for a second, both sets of parents soaking in the information . Surprisingly, Dan was the first to speak._

_"Ha! I knew it! You owe me fifty bucks Jim!" Dan yelled over the speaker._

"Dammit! You guys couldn't have waited three more months!? I was close to making a hundred!" Jimmy whined "remind me when we reach you Dan." He added glumly.

_"Hold on." Haley put her hand up to silence the adults "you guys have been betting on when we'd get together!?" Haley asked. She was shocked, but at the same time, she wasn't exactly surprised._

_"How long has this been going on for?" Nathan asked._

_"Since you were about 5" Jimmy smirked "well, Dan and I started our bet when you were 5" I had you down for when you were 17, Dan guessed 15."_

_"Well, Deb and I have been betting on this since you were born. Although I had you down for 13, considering all the stories Deb told me about Nathan." Lydia spoke as she winked at Nathan._

_"MUM!" Nathan yelled at the tablet screen as he felt the blush creeping up his cheeks, he groaned and buried his head in Haley's shoulder as she giggled._

_"Oh don't worry sweetheart, Haley kept a whole journal on how much she loved you!" Deb supplied._

_"MAMA!" Haley yelled, now feeling just as embarrassed as Nathan. Now it was Nathan's turn to chuckle._

_"I guess our parents knew us better than we though huh babe?" He spoke_

_"unbelievable" she muttered and rolled her eyes._

_"Well Dan, what do we bet on now?" Jimmy asked his friend._

_"Well Deb and I are still betting on when they're getting married, ooh and this baby's gender"_

_"Seriously! Do you guys not have a life!?" Haley asked, their families were crazy sometimes. "We've been together three months and you guys are already waiting to see when we get married!"_

_The adults just ignored them_

_"Alright James, I'm feeling lucky" Dan stated. "200 says the baby's a girl." _

_Jimmy just chuckled "you're on Scott. You forget of all my seven children, I've got more boys then girls. The odds are in my favour"_

_Nathan and Haley just groaned as they looked at one another, Nathan placed a kiss on her forehead and leaned his down to his the level of Haley's belly "well kid, this is our crazy family. Good luck."_

—

Haley was brought out of her reverie by the sound of the front door slamming shut, followed by angry, heavy footsteps heading towards her room. _'Oh dear' _Haley thought to herself, there goes her afternoon of relaxing, she knew who those footsteps belonged to...

"I swear to god, he's a dead man!" Brooke Davis burst into the room, her face red with anger.

"What'd Lucas do know Brookie" she smirked, enjoying her fried s dramatics.

Brooke dumped a box on Haley's bed for her to inspect, and paced back and forth at the end of the bed, completely in her own thoughts.

"The man should be drawn and quartered. No quarterings too good for him, he should be eighties, sixteenthed." She spoke

"I dunno, you quarter a guy, he's in four pieces. That's tough to recover from." Haley joked, knowing Brooke wasn't registering what she was saying to her.

"He should be stretched on a rack, iron maiden, strappadoed." Brooke retorted

"Oh my god. Strappadoed?" Haley asked in shock. Lucas must have done something reeeeeally bad to get Brooke this angry.

"When you suspend him in the air with a rope tied to his hands that are tied behind his back!" Brooke yelled at Haley in frustration.

"I know what it is Brooke. And you're kind of scaring me with your knowledge of torte." She added lightheartedly, hoping to diffuse the imminent bomb of rage that was Brooke Davis.

This finally caused Brooke to calm herself down, knowing she needed to breathe in order to talk with Haley. "You're not helping tutor girl." She whined, flopping onto the bed, expelling a massive breath of air.

Haley sat up on her bed, legs crossed, and threw her magazine onto the bedside table. "I'm sorry tigger. I'm all ears, but first you gotta tell me what Lucas did to get you so riled up."

"I was trying to find his Keith Scott auto shop jumper, you know the one I pinched from him when we first started dating?" Haley smiled, remembering how Brooke practically lived in that jumper for the first six months of her and Lucas' relationship, after he gave it to her one night when he waking her home.

"Yeah, but I don't know how the jumper made you so angry?" Haley replied

"Hold on Bob, I'm not finished." Brooke replied "Anyways, I had left it at Luke's a couple nights ago and Karen had washed it and said she put it up somewhere in his cupboard." Brooke sat up and moved to lean on Haley's shoulder and finished her story.

"So he told me I could look for it while he was gone, since he had practice. I couldn't find it in the drawers, and because I'm so damn short I couldn't reach the top properly." Haley giggled at Brooke's remark, but quickly stopped, knowing her friend needed her to be serious. "And I could see it right at the to of the shelf, and I jumped and tried to grab it, but when I did all the stuff underneath it came down too. I was picking it all up and that box had opened" she points to the one she had placed in Haley's bed.

"You took Lucas' stuff? Brooke what is going on!?" Haley was seriously worried now, what did Lucas have in there that had gotten her so angry, then now gotten her so upset!?

"I think he's still in love with peyton." Brooke said, her voice so soft and scared, Haley almost hadn't heard her. Haley sighed, she knew that Lucas and peyton had a slight fling when he first started dating Brooke, but they had all moved past that. Brooke forgave peyton and gave Luke another chance, and peyton realised she was just hiding with Lucas because she was afraid of getting her heart broken with Jake.

Haley shrugged her should, causing Brooke to look up at her. "Brooke what's go you so worked up? What's in the box? You're scarring me sweetie." Haley spoke, the concern evident in her voice.

"You know how Lucas and peyton had dated for about two months when we were 13. Before their little fling?" Haley nodded her head, afraid to speak and derail Brooke.

"He kept it Haley. He kept everything, every drawing she did for him, the photos of them. The letters they wrote. He kept it all." She spoke, detestation clear in her hushed words.

Haley reached for the box and opened it, and sure enough everything was there. Ticket stubs from the concerts Peyton had taken him to. CD's she had given him, mix tapes, everything, it was like a time capsule of their relationship.

"Oh honey." Haley spoke sincerely as she wrapped Brooke up in her arms, who had now begun crying beyond control. "Sweetie, did you try talking to him? Did you ask him why he kept all this stuff?" Haley asked

Brooke just shook her head holding tighter to Haley as she tried to control her sobbing

"I don't know if I want to know the answer." Brooke whispered

Haley pulled back and looked brooke in the eyes "Brooke you've got to talk to him. You know Luke, there's always a good explanation for things. He always tells you the truth, and you both owe it to your relationship to figure this out. I know you love him Brooke, And he loves you." Haley spoke, trying to convince Brooke things weren't as bad as they seem.

"Can I just stay here for a while first? I don't want to face him yet." Brooke asked.

"Of course Brooke" Haley stood up and opened the blanket for Brooke to climb in "you look exhausted, when did you go to sleep?"

"Honestly? I haven't been able to since I found that box last night, I just sat in bed and got all worked up then came here to see you, I knew you'd help" she smiled at her best friend.

"Ok well go to sleep. I'm going to go downstairs and see Nathan, I think the baby's getting a bit hungry" she joked

"Ok, thanks Hales" Brooke whispered, her eyes feeling heavy.

"Sweet dreams tigger" Haley said as she walked out of the room and downstairs to see Nathan.

"Hey. I saw Brooke, everything ok?" He asked as Haley entered the kitchen.

"Not by a long shot. Call your brother, tell him we need to talk."

**A/N: two chapters within 24 hours. Crazy I know! I'll have the next one up tomorrow, don't want to leave you guys too long!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think, hope o did the Brucas request justice, don't worry they'll work it out.**

**Also the baley bit with the torture methods is actually a scene between Rory and Logan in Gilmore girls :)**

**\- maddie**


	11. Trust Me

For better or for worse ch 11

**A/N: back with another chapter! The first half of this is primarily Brucas to finish off the end last last chapter. Naley and others will be more in the end :) enjoy!**

11\. Trust me

"Haley!?" Lucas yelled as he walked into her house.

Nathan rushed into the entrance, finger to his lips signalling his brother to be quiet

Lucas got the hint and quietly closed the door behind him, following his brother into kitchen where he saw Haley sitting at the island bench eating lunch

"Oh good you're here. We need to talk." Haley spoke as Lucas walked up to her

"Is this about Brooke?" Lucas asked

"How'd you know?" Haley was curious

"She's been really weird with me today. She was really dry when she spoke to me, and snarky. Not like her normal Brooke sass, she was pissed I could tell. But every time I asked if she was ok she said she was fine and walked off." Lucas replied

Haley smacked him on the back of the head, to which Lucas yelped as Nathan tried to hold in a laugh

"What'd you hit me for!?" He exclaimed

"Because you're an idiot. And lower your voice Brooke's sleeping upstairs."

"So you do know what going on?" He inquired.

"First tell me this. Are you in love with peyton?"

Lucas burst out laughing at the accusation, but quickly stopped seeing the serious look in both Haley and Nathan's eyes.

"You're serious? No of course not! What gave you that idea!?" He exclaimed once again.

"Lucas, lower your voice." Haley spoke sternly.

Lucas took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair in frustration, calming down he spoke again "tell me what's going on Hales."

So Haley did. She explained how Brooke came to the house, how angry she was at finding the box, and then now that anger turned to fear and sadness, fear that Lucas still wanted peyton and sadness that she was in love with a guy who might not love her back,

Lucas sat at the table in the kitchen, completely shocked. He never expected Brooke to see that box, but she had completely freaked out over nothing. He knew if he explained it to her then she wouldn't be upset, he didn't understand.

"Why didn't she just ask me about it?" He questioned.

Haley could see he was hurt, and her tough exterior broke. She loved Lucas and Brooke both and she knew from his expression that there was a misunderstanding between the two regarding this box.

She walked over to him and sat in the chair next to his. Gingerly placing her hand on his shoulder she smiled sadly and spoke.

"You know how Brooke is Luke. She questions herself, she's vulnerable. She doesn't like letting people in because she always gets hurt when they do, she's always been the girl who never got the guy she wanted. They always wanted her for her body, or they picked peyton over her, seeing that box, it reminded her of when you two were first getting together, how you hid the fact that you were also dating peyton. She's always felt insecure where you and her are concerned" Haley spoke

"It's not that she doesn't think you don't love her Luke. She knows you do. But that box makes here question whether or not your feeling are for her only." Nathan finished.

Lucas sighed and stood up. He needed to fix this.

"I'm going to go talk to her, we need to get some things straight." He said as he walked towards the stairs. "She's in my room. Be gentle Lucas." Haley called out to him.

She stood up and walked into Nathan's arms. He wrapped her in his embrace, kissing the top of her head as she listened to his heartbeat.

"I really hope this works out." Haley whispered.

"It'll be fine, just you wait and see." He responded giving her a tight hug then releasing her "come on, I made your favourite. Mac and cheese" he smiled.

Haley laughed "you really are the greatest boyfriend you know that?" She spoke sweetly kissing his cheek and running to the stove to grab their lunch.

—

Brooke woke to a deep voice calling her name, and a hand on her shoulder gently rocking her body to stir her from her slumber. She turned and looked at the person, instantly regretting her decision. She jumped out of bed to face him.

Lucas.

_Haley must have called him _she thought to herself.

Which means he knew. Everything. Was she ready to hear what he had to say?

"Can we talk?" He spoke nervously, breaking the silence "I'd like to explain."

Her walls went up. She knew she needed to be strong for this.

"There's not really much to say is there Lucas?" She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"Don't do that" he whispered placing his hand on her upper arm.

She shrugged him off "do what?" She asked, a slight hint of anger to her voice.

"Don't shut me out. You don't even know what I'm going to say, and if you keep shutting me out you won't find out, and believe me when is say none of this is what you think Brooke. I promise" he spoke honestly.

Brooke's eyes softened, she took a deep breath, sitting down on the edge of the bed as he sat beside her, facing his body towards her.

"Why? Why do you still have those things Luke?" Brooke spoke, almost inaudible, afraid to know what the answer was.

"I'm not in love with Peyton." He started "I mean, I love her, but like family. She and I were never in love with each other. We were together because we were afraid of being hurt by the ones we truly loved. We were hiding."

"That still doesn't answer the question Lucas. Why do you have those things?" She asked again.

"I keep those things to remind myself of how I screwed up, with YOU. I know that I hurt you by dating peyton, and I know that it makes you question your truest in me sometimes. And that's why I keep all at stuff. So that I'm constantly reminded of how much pain I caused you the first time, and to make sure I never do it again." He took Brooke's hand in between his, and kissed as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I love you, Brooke Penelope Davis. And I always will. You're all I want. Not peyton, not anybody else. You." He spoke, leaning in to kiss her.

They broke apart when air became an issue, their foreheads slightly touching.

"I'm sorry. I should've talked to you instead of getting so upset." Brooke spoke first.

"It's ok" Lucas replied "I get why you reacted that way. But you've got to start to trust me more Brooke, you've got to trust the way I feel about you, it kills me to know you'd ever doubt how much I love you, or doubt that I only loved you."

"I know, I'm trying Lucas, I know you love me. But every time I ever try to keep someone in my life they leave. I mean look at my parents. I haven't seen the, in years. I know they love me, but they're so busy with their company they rarely see me. I live in that big old house alone." Brooke said "and I know that if I called they'd be here in an instant, but that's not fair of me to take them away from what they love doing."

"Brooke, why didn't you tell me any of this?" Lucas questioned "how can you and I trust each other if you're not honest with me?"

"You don't trust me?" Brooke inquiries, shocked.

"Of course I trust you. But after hearing that, it seems like you don't trust me." He spoke quietly.

A tear broke down Brooke face. She grabbed Lucas and kissed him passionately, letting it escalate slightly. She pulled back when aide became an issue, arms still wrapped around each other, trying to calm themselves.

"Don't ever question how much I trust you Lucas. You're on of the few people I do trust. I just have trouble telling people everything. I promise, I'm trying." She whispered, pecking his cheek.

Lucas brings his hand up to caress her cheek "okay." He whispers.

"Shall we go back down? I think Haley was saying something about catching up with everyone at the cafe or Peyton's. Or we can stay here if you'd like." Lucas offers.

"No. Let's go see our friends." She replied jumping up and pulling hi out the door, only to be stopped as he pulled her back when they reached the staircase.

"Are we ok?" He asks, slightly nervous. Brooke smiles back up at him.

"We're perfect."

—

The gang were now all at Peyton's. It was an extremely hot day, and the group of teens were all making ample use of Peyton's pool. The girl were currently trying to push each other off the guys shoulders and into the pool. Brooke was on Lucas' shoulders, Peyton on Jake's, Bevin on Skills', Alex on Julian's and Haley on Nathan's.

Haley was starting to fell nauseous so she and Nathan got out of the pool and were lying together on one of the beach chairs near the pool.

Haley rested her head on Nathan's chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, as he wrapped his around her shoulders, their legs in a tangle. Haley smiled looking around at her friends all together.

"We've got it pretty good don't we?" She said to Nathan "to have friends, who are pretty much family. Who stood by us through all of this."

Nathan smiles and kisses her forehead "its perfect. And I think little Ryder will fit in just perfectly."

Haley looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "Why are you so sure it's a boy? You don't like girls or something?" She joked.

"Honestly the idea of a girl frightens me. She's going to have her mothers good looks and brains, and I'm going to go grey by the time were 30 trying to keep the boys away. And at least if it's a boy, he can help me protect his little sisters From potential _boyfriends" _hesays, uttering the last word in disgust.

Haley sits up at hearing this, her eyes glistening, tears threatening to fall. "You can see our future?" She says

Nathan places his hand against her cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears that are starting to fall "of course. If there's on thing I know it's that you and I are going to be together, always and forever right?" He says

She smiles and nods her head, leaning in to kiss him, she whispers against his lips "always and forever"

**A/N: ok! So that was my attempt at adding in Brucas for dianehermans so I hope you guys enjoyed it. There will probably be a bit more a time jump next chapter of a couple months to speed up Haley's pregnancy a little. As usual if you're reading please leave a review and thank you to my wonderful reviewers who read and leave a comment for every chapter I love you guys!**

**PS: if anyone watches Chicago PD, how upsetting was last episode with linstead!?**

**\- maddie :)**


	12. The little hiccup

For better or for worse chapter 12

**A/N: as promised, I've tried to give you an update within the week of my last one :)**

**I hope you like it, and I apologise now for the ending, but I promise it all works out - this is more of a naley fluff story remember!? Enjoy!**

12\. The little hiccup

Haley was now eight months pregnant.

School had let out a week ago for The three month Christmas break. Haley was thankful for not having school. She loved it, she really did, but her body seemed to be against her.

She was constantly tired, and her body was aching from the additional wait of the baby. Her skin was getting slightly irritated from the stretch marks that developed along her hips, and she was constantly getting upset over her lack of bladder control when laughing.

But still, she couldn't deny that a part of her was enjoying the experience. Even if it happened a lot earlier in life that she thought it would, she was happy and excited to meet her baby. Knowing that she had Nathan, her friends and her family and her friends families supporting her made it all so much better.

Haley and Nathan were both relaxing on the couch, their friends all spread out on the floor and on other seats surrounding them. It was an unusually warm day, so the group decided to watch a movie at Haley's since she was tired and didn't want to move around too much, and then would go outside for a swim after lunch.

They had taken a risk and chosen to watch a romantic comedy. The girls and Nathan had known about how pregnancy can affect the mother's bladder, especially when laughing, but Haley was slightly grumpy today and refused to let everyone miss out on a movie because of her. She was tired anyways and figured she'd fall asleep before anything good happened. And how right she was.

Nathan was laying on the couch with Haley half on him, and half resting on the inner side of the couch, he had been slightly paranoid and insisted he lay closer to the floor side of the couch so she wouldn't roll off in her sleep. He smiled as she started to snore lightly and knew that the couch probably wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep.

He carefully manoeuvred himself off the couch and picked Haley up. "I'm just going to go put her down in our room. I highly doubt this couch is comfortable." He whispered to the group, doubting if they were even listening considering how into the movie they were. He slowly walked up the stairs As Haley automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Those two are too cute!" Brooke whispered shouted over to the group

"I know right? We seriously picked the best movie" peyton replied, to which Alex nodded.

"No you dorks, look at naley!" She whispered, pointing to where Nathan was slowly walking up the stairs, and Nathan carefully kissing her forehead and soothing her so she didn't wake up.

"Those two are going to make it all the way, they'll definitely be one of the high school sweetheart couples" Alex whispered leaning over Julian to talk to Brooke.

"I know. I really hope they can make it, especially with the baby and everything." Brooke spoke slightly worried.

"Don't worry B, we'll all make sure they make it." Jake threw in

"Yeah" Julian agreed "they've got us no matter what"

"Yeah you're right." Brooke spoke

"We already knew that Brooke, but what we don't know is the end of the movie so shhhh!" Peyton spoke up.

Brooke laughed and turned back to the screen, tucking herself under her boyfriends arm and watching the rest of the movie.

—

Nathan had, slowly but surely, reached his and Haley's bedroom. Letting go of her with one hand he quickly opened the door and then had his arm wrapped around her again in record time. He knew he was probably being a bit paranoid but he didn't care. He needed Haley to be safe. He needed the baby to be safe.

He gently placed her down on the bed, placing the blanket over her and kissing her forehead, then bending down further to kiss her belly "be good for daddy, and don't wake up mommy ok? She needs her rest" he quietly whispered to the baby.

he slowly walked towards the bedroom, only to be stopped by her voice.

"Daddy?" She whispered, her voice alive with wonder and slight amusement.

"Yeah daddy. You got a problem with that?" He said jokingly, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Are you sure about that Nathan? I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with." She spoke nervously, looking down and picking at the fabric on her blanket.

Nathan smiled and sat back down on the bed. Taking her hands in his, he took a deep breath, feeling nervous for some reason, before speaking

"Hales, I don't care if this baby isn't biologically mine, he or she is OUR baby in every way that matters. I'm going to love this kid so much, I really do want to be their dad, I kinda already thought I was." He spoke shyly, when Haley didn't speak he started to ramble "but I mean if you don't want me to be then I understand. I mean we've been together 5 months now and I just thought -"

He was cut off by s sniffle. Looking up he realised that Haley had started crying. He took her into his arms and held her close. "Don't cry baby, I didn't mean to upset you I'm sorry." He spoke, feeling guilty for making Haley this upset by his revelation.

"These aren't sad tears, I'm just still really emotional and hormonal" she said, laughing slightly trying to relieve some of the tension and nervous energy around them.

Sitting up further she wrapped her arms around Nathan s neck and kissed him passionately. When they broke apart she spoke once more

"I want nothing more than for you to be this kids daddy, and you're right. You are. And I love you so much." She spoke, her voice emphasising how much emotion was in that one sentence.

"I love you too" he spoke softly as he kissed her forehead "now go to sleep, I know you've been tired lately. I'll come wake you when once we've made lunch."

Haley nodded her head and lay back down. She knew he was right, she needed to sleep. Little baby James-Scott had been tossing and turning the past couple of nights and it made it impossible for her to sleep when her belly had Become party central.

The last thing she heard before drifting off was Nathan's soothing voice

"Sweet dreams angel."

—

The gang had now finished the movie and were getting lunch ready. Brooke, Peyton, Alex and Bevin were making salad to go with lunch and a cake for dessert, while Nathan, Julian, Lucas, Jake and skills wee outside talking around the barbecue while they cooked the sausages and steak.

It had been a relatively relaxing afternoon. The group had decided to go in the pool before lunch as well, while Nathan went upstairs to work on the nursery which was still being decorated since he wanted to do it on his own and surprise Haley and well as their friends and family. Haley had picked all the furniture with him and he already knew what kind of look she wanted so he just worked from there.

The guys had finished cooking and were now headed inside. Upon entering the house Nathan noticed Brooke coming downstairs towards him, a look of sheer panic off her face.

"Nathan you've got to go get Haley. She was yelling for you, and when I went up she refused to let me in. I think something's wrong." Brooke spoke.

Nathan dropped everything from his arms onto the counter in a noisy haste, and ran upstairs taking the stairs three at s time in his haste to reach Haley.

He burst into the bedroom three seconds later and so Haley sitting up in bed looking like she was in severe pain.

He immediately rushed to her side, kneeling on the floor trying to asses what was wrong.

"Hales, what's wrong?" Nathan spoke, the fear and worry evident in his voice.

"Something's wrong. I kept having these sharp pains the past couple of days but I thought it was indigestion or something, but they're getting more painful." She cried.

Nathan reached over and grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table, calling their doctor to inform him of the situation and to tell him that they were coming in to the hospital.

"Ok, the doctor know we're coming. Let's get going." He spoke.

Haley moved to stand up and walk to the car but Nathan stopped her and scooped her up in his arms instead before rushing down the stairs. Haley was about to protest but refrained when she saw the pained and concerned look in Nathan's eyes.

"I'm not taking any chances" he spoke sternly. Haley just wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest.

They were soon pulling out of the driveway and were on their way to the hospital.

Haley stared out the window as Nathan drove, praying that everything would be ok.

She glanced over at Nathan who was focusing on driving, and took one of his hands in hers and placing it in her lap. She didn't think her heart could take anything else happening, and she sure as hell wasn't ready to lose her- their baby.

**A/N: ok, I know you guys don't want drama, and I assure you now nothing bad happens. But I had a PM from a reader asking me to add a very small complication. I promise no full on drama, just this little hiccup :)**

**I won't keep you guys In suspense for too long. I have a free period tomorrow during s school so I'll update the next chapter hopefully then.**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**\- maddie :)**


	13. Bringing us closer together

For better or for worse

**A/N: hey guys! I tried so hard and succeeded in updating the next day woohoo!**

**Hope you guys enjoy :)**

13\. Bringing us closer together

Nathan sat in the hospital room, his chair right next to Haley's bed, watching her as she slept. She had been distraught when arriving at the hospital. She was so scared she was either losing the baby or having he or she early. They were both terrified.

It was now 11:00pm. They had been here for four hours. Haley had finally calmed down and slept now as they waited for the doctor to come back with her test results. The pain had been a sever case of braxton hicks, but doctor Greene noticed that Haley's stress levels as well as her blood pressure was quite high so she ran some tests on her just to make sure there weren't any underlying issues.

Nathan gently brushed the hair out of Haley's face, praying with every fibre of his being that Haley was ok. Or that if she was sick, it was an easy fix.

He was broken out of his thoughts by his phone buzzing.

_Brooke Davis_

Nathan stood up and quietly exited the room so as not to disturb Haley. He had called Brooke in the car to inform everyone of why they ran out so fast.

"Hey Brooke" he whispered, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke

_"Oh god. It's bad isn't it?" _She questioned.

"The pain was just severe Braxton Hicks. The doctor said it was completely normal for women to experience that within 30-40 weeks of the pregnancy."

_"But? There's something else Nathan I can tell. What's going on?"_

"Doctor Greene said her stress levels and blood pressure was really high, which made her a bit concerned. They did some extra tests just to make sure everything's fine. They've admitted Haley until we get the results just to be safe."

_"Oh my god...Ok forget waiting at the house were coming there now."_

Nathan sighed "Brooke you really don't need to. Haley said-"

_"I don't care what Haley said Nathan. I'm not sitting here while my best friends and my nephew are in the hospital. Well be there in 20 minutes max."_

"Thank you Brooke"

_"I know you Nate. You need us for this. Haley's normally the one who helps you through it and she can't right now, your roles are reversed, I know you're probably feeling a lot right now. You need us and honestly we need to be there."_

"Ok. I'll see you soon. Thank you B"

_"Of course Nathan. We'll bring you guys some clothes and food too."_

"you really are the best"

Brooke smiled "_tell me something I don't know. Stay strong Nate. We'll be there as soon as we can. Give Hales our love."_

Nathan sighed, shutting his phone and leaning against the wall. He expelled a long hard breath as tears broke through the surface, as he dropped to the floor. After a few minutes he stood, wiping his eyes. He started asking towards the coffee machine but stopped as he heard a scream pierce through the door he had exited from.

—

Haley woke with a start. Her heart was racing as she tried to recover herself from her bad dream. She looked around and begun to think that her dream had come true.

Where was he?

"Nathan?" She spoke softly, her voice starting to break

"Nathan!" She yelled slightly louder

"Nathan!?" She screamed at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face.

She buried her face back into the pillow as sobs wracked her body.

She looked up as she heard the door open and relief flooded through her.

He was here. He was with her.

She smiled as he ran over to her and wrapped her up in his arms, lying down on the bed with her.

"I'm here Hales. Breathe baby, just breathe." He spoke, instantly soothing.

"I dreamt you were gone." She whispered quietly

"I'm not going anywhere. He kissed her hair and slowly rocked them back and forth calming.

Haley sniffled as she tried to wipe the tears and snot off Nathan's shirt.

"Sorry" she whispered

"I don't mind. Brooke's bringing us some clothes and food, she should be here soon. Are you still feeling sleepy?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

"I feel fine, you got to stop fussing Nathan. I thought I told Brooke not to come?" Haley replied

"Firstly, you know I'm not going to stop fussing or worrying over you. And secondly, does Brooke Davis ever do anything she's told?"

Haley sighed "that's true. I guess we better relax until she comes. Lord knows we won't get a minute of peace with everyone here and going crazy worrying about us and the baby."

"Well then go back to sleep while you can. Do you need anything?" He asked

"No, can you stay here and sleep with me? I don't want to be alone." She whispered burying her head on his chest.

"Of course" he smiled down at her.

Nathan shuffled them around and lay down with Haley next to him, his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest. He kissed her temple as they both drifted back to sleep.

—

Nathan was jolted awake by the room to their door slamming open and a rather flustered Brooke, Peyton, Alex, Bevin, Lucas, Jake, Julian, and skills entering the room.

The group all sat around the bed as Nathan and Haley woke up.

"Hey Bob" brooke was the first to speak. "How you feeling?"

"Fine. You guys really didn't need to come here to see me especially this late at night. It's not safe to drive if you haven't slept!" Haley replied slightly annoyed at her friends' lack of safety.

"Hales, you're crazy if you think we were just going to sit around your hour all day waiting to hear from you." Lucas spoke

"Yeah. We're a family dude, all of us," Peyton spoke

"Mouth and Millie send their wishes too. They're driving down to see you tomorrow." Alex some too.

Millie and mouth were also a part of the group of friends. Mouth was Alex's older brother, as well as Lucas, Nathan, skills and jakes childhood friend from the river court. Millie was Brooke's cousin and the girls friend as well. They were both a year older however and were in their first year of Duke.

Haley sat up in her bed hearing this, leaning against Nathan as he sat up, leaning his upper body against the wall so he could keep her against him.

"Guys I appreciate it, but call and tell them it's not necessary! They're both buy with school I know that, they can't just drop everything to come see me because of one little hiccup." Haley tried to reason with the group, but none of them were hearing it.

"Too late buddy, they were pretty adamant on coming they've got a three month break like us, they're only missing out on a week, and their professors have agreed to send them all the notes from the classes, and their roommates are sending them any work they get. It's all under control." Jake replied.

Haley crossed her arms defiantly "if their break is in a week the they can come down then" she argued back.

"Enough! You listen to me Haley Bob James, they're worried about you and the little guy. We all are, so stop being stubborn and just accept what's going on because none of us are going anywhere." Brooke spoke sternly, giving her friend a don't-mess-with-me-sister look.

"Fine. Thank you." Haley softened up "I'm not trying to be rude or anything. I just don't want you guys to worry unnecessarily about me"

"Hales we worry about you whether you want us to or not, at least, I know I do." Nathan finally spoke up, looking around the group of people nodding their heads in agreement with him.

Haley looked at her friends smiling, then looked up at Nathan before speaking "well o guess I should feel lucky that I have such amazing friends and family. And the most amazing boyfriend to boot." She joked, giving Nathan a lingering kiss, until they were interrupted by their friends protesting groans.

"Please. I really don't need to be emptying out my lunch." Lucas groaned

"Oh that reminds me! Here!" Brooke said passing Nathan a Karen's Café bag, with Mac and cheese for Haley and cheeseburger with fries for Nathan.

The group was sitting around eating the food Brooke had brought during their pit stop at Karen's. They were all in light conversations with each other when they heard Nathan groan in protest.

"Hales! You've got your dinner, why're you eating all my fires!?" He asked in faux irritation.

"Hey. Baby wants fries with Mac and cheese. And what baby wants baby gets" she said smirking up at him

He laughed and kissed her forehead "you're just lucky I love you and baby." He said kissing her cheek.

"Aww you too are so cute!" Bevin gushed

Haley blushed at the comment as everyone laughed.

—

Doctor Greene had finally finished in surgery. A car crash had left a fifteen year old girl circling the drain, thankfully, after 15 hours of surgery they had managed to save her.

She walked tiredly through the hospital ward to the nurses station to check in.

"Anything for me? I'd really like to head home." She asked, it was not 4:00am and she really wanted to go home to her husband and kids.

"Haley James' blood work and urine sample came back, you need to take a look." The nurse said "after that you're all good" she smiled towards the doctor.

Doctor Greene looked over the results and sighed. She walked straight to the room and was shocked when she opened the door. There on the bed slept her patient with her boyfriend. Doctor Greene couldn't help but smile at how in love they were. What shocked her though, was the other eight teenagers that were sprawled out on the cot, couch and floor.

She smiled seeing how big a support system that Haley had. She weaved her way through the teens on the floor, and gently shook Haley and Nathan awake.

"Mr Scott, Ms James. I have your test results" Nathan and Haley woke at the sound of Doctor Greene's voice.

The look on The doctors face made Nathan and Haley both feel sick.

"It's bad isn't it?" Haley spoke, fearing the worst, as she squeezed Nathan's hand

Doctor Greene sat on the chair next the bed. "It is, but at the same time, it's not as bad as I and expected. You have what is called pre-eclampsia. Your protein levels in your urine was really high and so was your blood pressure, but luckily for you it's only a mild case.

Normally in this case, since you're so close to your due date I would normally say we deliver the baby now. However, given your age, I want to make sure that you have the best chance as well, and delivery in general is a lot of stress on your body. I'm saying that I think it's best we wait a couple more weeks, since you're only a month away it gives us more time to make sure the baby is developed and that your body is more prepared." Doctor Greene spoke, as Haley and Nathan sat trying to process all of the information.

"So what do we do now?" Nathan spoke

"Well luckily for you it's not an issue, since it's only mild, all I will tell you is that you NEED to be on bedrest, preferably lying on your left side or flat on your back as it help to take the weight of the baby off your major blood vessels which will he greatly. No getting up for more than ten minutes in the day, excluding going to and from the toilet, but even then you shouldn't be walking to and from there even too much, Nathan might have to be carrying you a lot." She joked trying to lighten the situation knowing the teens were scared.

Doctor Greene took Haley's other hand "the most important thing to know is you're going to be fine. I'll come to your house every three days over the next two weeks to check up and see when we're ready for delivery, and as long as you don't exceed the ten minutes walking and you're on bed rest, everything will be fine. I promise we'll keep you and your baby safe ok?"

"Ok. Bed rest, no walking more than ten minutes a day, I can do that." Haley said smiling, she was grateful that it wasn't as bad as she had imagined.

"I'll make sure she sticks to it, don't worry doc." Nathan said

"I know you will, and I know all your friends will help too." Doctor Greene smiled "you have an amazing support system around you Haley, and that will help too. I'll see you in three days ok? I'll go fill out your discharge papers." Doctor Greene said, before getting up and walking out the door.

—

Nathan and Haley had finally reached home the next day. They made a quick tour to the cafe to explain Haley's situation to Karen, who of course was completely understanding and told Haley not to worry about work. Haley smiled at the thought, Karen had become another mum to her and she was extremely grateful for it, each of the groups parents had treated all the girls and boys in their group like their very own children and it's what made them such a big family.

Nathan carried Haley upstairs and into bed, insisting that she not waste the ten minute she has each day on walking up and down stairs. He had let her sleep for a while, then carried her downstairs for lunch where they sat for the rest of the day watching movies and discussing the plans for after the baby came.

"I do have something we need to discuss Nathan." Haley smoke slightly shyly

"What is it babe?" He replied

"College."

Nathan sighed. He knew they had to deal with college, eBay at the same time he didn't want to think about it. Nathan had always wanted to go to duke university to play basketball, it was his dream. But he knew Haley wanted to go to Stanford, that was her dream, to study English Lit and be a high school teacher.

When they had first realised this, it was fine. They promised they'd email, text Dan call each other all the time to keep in touch, and they had already planned when they would see each other in person. But now that they were a family, one of them had to decide who was giving up their dream, or if they'd pick a new dream college together.

"I want to go to duke with you." Haley spoke, breaking him out of his reverie.

"What?" He was shocked to any the least "but Stanford is your dream Hales."

"No, you're my dream. Our family, that's my dream. I can study English lit anywhere, and duke was my backup anyways in case Stanford didn't work out, I want to do this for you Nathan, for us." She told him.

"Are you sure?" He asked, tilting her head up and forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Nathan, if there's one thing the past 24 hours have done, is made me feel closer to you. And it's shown me that life is unpredictable. We're so lucky this was only a little scare and that the worst I got is bed rest when the alternative could've been -" Haley stopped when she felt the lump in her throat. She took a deep breath to reign in her emotions before continuing "- so much worse. We're lucky Nathan, and my dream changed, that's what happens. I want us to be a family, I want to sit in the stands at duke with our child and all our friends and scream my lungs out cheering you on as a duke blue devil. I'm 100% sure. We promised each other always and forever, this is it." She smiled.

Nathan leaned down and kissed her, and then kissed her very large belly.

"I love you so much Hales, I promise I'm going to make you both so happy there. Thank you" he whispered

"You don't have to thank me for anything Nathan. I love you too." She spoke as she kissed him once more, before he carried her up to bed and they drifted off to sleep,

Haley wrapped in Nathan's arms, with one of his hands protectively placed over her —their baby.

**A/N: and that's chapter 13! I hope you guys enjoyed, and next chapter we will be moving into Haley's due date and the baby being born!**

**I probably only have 5-10 more chapters max. I don't want the story to run for too long since its a bit more fluff than anything else, and I'm planning on starting a Chicago PD and another one tree hill story, I will do an epilogue to tie this all together though no matter where I finish this story at. I'll try to add some more content with the other characters in too.**

**I'd also like to really quickly thank all my reviewers. I never thought I'd get even 1 review on this story, but now that I do I'm hoping to get 50 before the end of this story, which is only 7 more reviews! Thank you guys your comments really do inspire me to write.**

**PLEASE REVIEW YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT MEAN TO ME!**

**\- maddie :)**


	14. The nursery (and other surprises)

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE CH 14

**A/N: hey guys! I'm back, again. Thank you all for your lovely reviews they're inspiring me so much!  
This chapter is inspired by the amazing Sam Smith, since I was listening to his song "I'm Not The Only One" and the title of this story is part of the lyrics in verse 1 so it got me even more inspired to write. I also got 2 requests in my PM for this story, so this chapter will be a lot longer than my others:**

**One request was for Nathan and Haley to have a discussion about sex. This reader felt that they Nathan and Haley should talk about it, and try to move forward a bit in the physical and intimate side of their relationship. I tried to incorporate it but as I said above I'm not really experienced in relationships so I tried my best, and I hope that you think it's ok.**

**I was requested by Naley12 to add some more fluff, and maybe a make out scene…But I'm not really experienced in writing or actually experiencing any romantic stuff since I've never actually had a boyfriend…or even a date :P, most of this story is from my imagination. So I did enlist her help with writing the make out part so I hope you like it :)**

**Enjoy!**

14\. The nursery (and other surprises)

A week had passed since Haley's hospital visit. Doctor Greene had been by twice to see her, and was pleased to find that Haley had been following instructions, and that Nathan had been taking care of her and making sure she stuck to her limitations. Since her blood pressure and stress was decreasing, they suggested waiting a little longer than planned for haley to deliver. She was in the last three weeks of pregnancy which meant the baby could already be ready but the Doctor had stated that if Haley was doing ok and the baby was doing ok, then she didn't see the point in medically inducing labour. She had given Haley some medication to help with her blood pressure and she was now allowed to be on her feet for fifteen minutes a day, but still nothing too strenuous.

Nathan walked up the stairs to their house, holding a box of goodies for Haley. Their friends were all at Karen's and Nathan stopped by to pick up some food Karen had made for them, and the group had given Nathan a care package which they had made for Haley, since they knew she'd go crazy with them if they were there all the time watching her, but they knew shed go out of her mind if hse didn't have anything to do – the care package was the solution to their problems.

Nathan smiled remembering how Brooke had lectured him for fifteen minutes, instructing him to be careful and to not ruin the box that they had spent hours working on. He loved how caring their friends were, and he felt extremely lucky they would all be only an hour or two away from Nathan and Haley at Duke.

Nathan knocked gently on the door before entering, and smiled even wider at the sight.  
Haley was curled up on the bed, Dead asleep, her pregnancy books, laptop and magazines scattered around her and her hands placed protectively over her unborn baby. Nathan loved how wonderful a mother Haley had already become, and the baby wasn't even born yet.

He walked into the room, placing the care package on the table next to the bed and gathered everything up and neatly placed it under the table in the shelf. He went to close her laptop and was surprised at what he found. _Sex: How do I know if I'm ready?_

After everything that had happened with Troy, Haley's therapist had suggested she go to group therapy discussion as well to talk to people who had been through similar situations to hers. One of the girls in their group who she had befriended, Lindsay, had started an online group therapy chat for anyone who had experienced something like both she and Haley had, and where they could ask questions about moving forward, or express their feelings in a safe environment.

Haley had written beneath the question that had been posted.

_Hey guys,_

_I know it's been a while since I've written anything or even answered any questions you guys have posted but I've been slightly pre-occupied. See, I'm not 9 months pregnant. Yes, my unfortunate experience led to me having a child._

_However, It doesn't matter that this child is a result of something so traumatic. I have the most amazing boyfriend (Yes, Nathan and I finally got together!) and he's told me time and time again that he loves this kid as if he or she were his own child. We're going to Duke together, and I feel so lucky to have him._

_Which brings me back to my original questions. It's been almost a year since I was raped, and Nathan's been amazing in giving me my space and not pushing me past a make-out session. But how do I tell him I want to progress further? I don't know if sex is the next step, but I'm freaking out._

_I love him, like I've never loved anyone before. And it scares me to think he might not want this, might not want to be with me that way. How do I explain this all to him?_

\- _Haley._

Nathan wasn't sure how he felt. He didn't even know Haley was considering this. He knew he wanted to be with Haley intimately, did she really doubt his feelings for him though? He couldn't help but feel hurt by that. He knew she always doubted herself, but he thought he had made it evident he wasn't going anywhere. He needed to talk to her about this.  
_

Haley woke up at around noon. She couldn't believe she had slept for so long, but she hadn't been able to sleep the night before since Nathan wasn't there. He had insisted on finishing the last bit of the nursery, and he only came to bed at four in the morning.

She smiled at the gesture. He really was the most amazing man, and she loved him so much. Haley looked around the room and noticed her things had been put back under the table, including her laptop – had Nathan seen what she had been looking at?  
She was distracted from her thoughts, noticing there was a box sitting on the bed with a note on it.

_Hales,_

_The group asked me to give you this. They made you a care package so you would have something to do while on bed rest.  
When you wake up, come knock on the nursery door, I'm just cleaning up in there so you can see._

_Love Nathan_

Haley smiled and opened up the box.

Magazines, courtesy of Bevin and Alex. Her iPod, but with about a thousand new songs on it under a "Pregnancy Playlist" courtesy of Peyton. New Maternity Clothing from Brooke. And a very messily done collage, with a whole bunch of new books, from all the guys.

Haley's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she saw just how much her friends loved her. She sent a quick text to them all

_I love the care package ALMOST as much as I love all of you. Thank you._

Haley shut her phone and moved the box aside to get out of bed, she was feeling really gross considering shed been in her pyjamas since yesterday night. She quickly brushed her hair and changed into a casual yellow dress Brooke had put in the box for her. She moved to look at herself in the mirror.

"Well baby, we officially look like a lemon meringue pie." She laughed as she placed her hands on her belly, feeling the baby kick under her palms. She walked out the door towards the door and tentatively knocked.

"Wait! Don't come in just hold on!" she heard an obviously flustered Nathan yell through the door followed by a crash and "OW!"  
Haley laughed "You ok?" she asked  
"yes!" he replied "Just close your eyes I'm coming out ok?"  
Haley closed her eyes before replying, and heard the door opened followed by Nathan's heavy footsteps. She felt him wrap some material around over her eyes so she couldn't peek, and felt him gently push her into the room.

"Now" he started "If you don't like it, I can always change it. I kind of tried to match the photos you had looked at but I really wanted to do something else too. And Peyton helped with the wall that the crib is against, I'm not that talented" he finished with a snort.

Haley bounced up and down on the spot "Nathan I'm sure I'll love it, now hurry up and let me see!" she squealed. She had waited four months to see this room and she was beyond excited.  
Nathan carefully lead Haley over to sit her down in the rocking chair before taking off the blindfold.  
"So? What do you think" He asked. Haley gasped.

On the wall where the entry was, there was a changing table and a little toy box next to it, with shelves above and little teddy bear wallpaper which she had picked out was skirted along the top of all the walls. The wall where the window had the rocking chair which Haley was sitting in with an accompanied chair for someone else, with a little coffee table in between.  
The wall next to that had a massive mural which Peyton had done. It was off all the group at the Rivercourt, with the words "Your family" written in cursive below, with a crib against it. The last wall had a chest of drawers and the wall had a massive cloud in the centre, and white photo frames surrounding, with various pictures of all their friends and families, and a changing table next to the chest of drawers.

But Haley's favourite thing in the room was the photo that was stuck on the crib with the words "Our first Family Picture" painted on the crib underneath it. It was a photo Brooke had taken of Nathan had Haley. Haley's arms were wrapped around Nathan's neck, and his were placed on her baby bump, and they were engaged in a light kiss.

Tears filled Haley's eyes as she looked at the powder blue walls. She looked up at Nathan's nervous gaze and smiled. "This is perfect Nathan, Thank you."  
Nathan smiled and his body visibly sagged with relief "I'm glad you liked it. And Peyton said that once we figure out what the baby's name is, she'll paint it into the cloud over there" He smiled, feeling proud of his work in this room.

They sat together on the pair of rocking chairs, Nathan had made her a cup of tea and he was drinking coffee. He felt now was the best time to bring up what he saw.  
"Hales look, I don't want you be upset, but when I was cleaning up everything I saw what was on your laptop." Nathan started slightly apprehensive as he waited for Haley's reaction.

"Oh. I thought you might have when I noticed you cleaned up. Are you mad?" she whispered looking down at her hands. Nathan set his coffee down and reached across the table and grasped her hands within his. "no of course not! Why would you think that?"

"I thought you might be upset that I had posted our problems online. I just-" Haley was at a loss of wrods to explain her reasoning. Nathan takes pity and jumps in "I know you feel safe asking them about these things, I don't mind. I am upset that you doubts my feelings hales. Do you not know how much I love you?" he spoke, his voice clearly conveying his pain.

"I know, but I do worry sometimes that maybe one day you'll wake up and realise playing basketball is more fun than playing house."  
Nathan gasped, "Do you really think that little of me? Hales, you know me. If I didn't want this I would tell you. I've wanted to be with you since we were 13 years old. I see my future with you. You're all I've ever wanted." He spoke kissing her hands. "now, talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."

Haley took a deep breath, feeling very nervous. "I want to move forward in our relationship. We never really talked about our physical, intimate boundaries. I know I want you to be my first, but I still think that's not happening for a while, I've still got some things to sort out. But I do want to move forward, I want to be more intimate with you, but I just… I don't know where to draw the line you know?" she said, hoping she explained it to him.

:I think so" Nathan replied "How about this? Let's just try and go a bit further – physically speaking -, and as soon as either of us feels that we need to stop, we just say so. I'll ask you before I do something and you can tell me yes or no. That way we communicate with each other, and we both know what we're comfortable with. Sound good?" Nathan offered.

Haley smiled and kissed his cheek "Sounds good. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it sooner, I was just nervous. I know you have a sexual history and I guess that makes me a bit nervous about talking to you about this. Plus you know I'm socially awkward about this topic anyways." Haley joked, referring to when they'd all be with their friends.

Nathan laughed "Yeah I know. It's not the most comfortable conversation to have, but at the end of the day we have to be honest with each other and know what the other wants, and this is how we do that. Besides, you're the first girl I've ever been with that I want a future with. I'm not going to throw all that away just because I find it a little awkward to talk about sex." He smiled.

"Ok" Haley started "so we agree. We'll just take this as we go and if we feel like its going too far then we agree to stop there."  
"Deal. Shall we seal it with a kiss?" Nathan smirked.  
Haley sighed dramatically and groaned "If we must"

Haley was now curled up on the couch, watching one of the 'home videos' that Brooke had recorded over the summer which was in her care package. Haley smiled and watched as the girls tried to push the guys off the pier at Brooke's beach house.

The group were coming over tomorrow to spend the day with Haley since they couldn't go to the café like they had planned because Karen had a problem with one of the new franchise stores for Karen's Café.

Nathan walked through the door half an hour later, completely exhausted from his basketball training with Lucas. He had showered at Lucas and decided to spend some time with his brother, feeling out of touch with him lately. He entered the living room and saw Haley curled beneath a blanket on the couch. "Any room for me over there?" He asked making himself noticed.  
Haley smiled "Always. When did you get back? I didn't hear you come in."  
"Only a couple of seconds ago. Is this the video Brooke made?"  
"Yeah it was in that package the guys sent. We got to do something for them tomorrow to say thanks." She replied as Nathan stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed wrapping his arms around her waist. "I missed you" he whispered against her hair.

Haley smiled, leaning up and kissing Nathan, letting her tongue slip past his teeth after a few minutes as they bought fought to gain dominance in the kiss.

* "Mmm that was a nice a hello," nathan spoke softly smiling back at her when they broke away from the kiss.  
Haley was a little embarrassed "I have been thinking a lot about what we discussed earlier. I would like to try and develop our relationship more," she spoke sitting up on the sofa.  
"What do you mean?" Nathan asked with a confused look on his face.  
"I know we have said I love you and you agreed to help me with this baby. I want us to start becoming a proper couple. I want us to kiss, make out and do stuff normal couples do, she spoke looking directly at him. We said we'd try and find our boundaries right?"

"Okay," he replied slowly leaning in to kiss her again. This time the kiss developed fast and became very passionate with a lot of tongue between them. Haley wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer as they kissed.

Nathan softly rub the soft skin of her stomach where her t shirt had risen up "Nathan it's okay if you wanting touch me, she spoke softly breaking away from the kiss.

" I just don't want to push you after everything you have been through," he replied looking back at her.  
"Nathan I trust you and want this with you" she replied to him.  
"Well that's let it upstairs then, this sofa is not comfy and you need to be resting," he spoke lifting her in his arms.  
"God you're so sexy babe," she spoke as he carried her upstairs. Stopping off in the bathroom before going back to bed.

Up in the bedroom Nathan gently placed her on the bed "I'm just going to open the window a little to give you some fresh air" he spoke as he opened it.  
"Thank you, now get back over her and kiss me" she commented to him.

Nathan did exactly as he was told. Kissing her straight away, this time let his hand travel up over her stomach. He realised she wasn't wearing a bra. Haley had seen the shocked expression on his face. "All of mine are underwire and I can't wear them anymore with being so big. I like the way you were touching me," she spoke reassuring him that it was okay.  
"You know I really do love you Hales, and our baby," he replied leaning in to give her a sweet kiss.  
"We love you too." she replied smiling at him. As she placed his hand back under her t-shirt she whispered against his ear "just touch me 'till I fall asleep, what you were doing was very relaxing,"

Nathan was only too happy to comply.

**A/N: OK! That is the end of this chapter and I must say I'm pretty happy with it! It's just shy of 3000 words which is the longest chapter I've written, which goes to show how much your reviews inspired me! Thank you again to naley12 for all your help with the Naley romance that was in this episode, I put an astrict ( * ) next to the beginning of what she wrote. Read her fanfic stories if you're not already they're awesome! I'll try to update in a week at the latest.**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT!**


	15. It's Time!

For better or for worse ch 15

**A/N: ok so it's been a little over a week unfortunately but I've been having issues with my laptop. Hopefully this update makes up for it. And I'd also like to quickly thank my amazing reviewers because I now have over 50 reviews which is a a major accomplishment for me so thank you!**

**There's a little flashback scene in here which is slightly childish but I hope you guys like :)**

**Enjoy!**

15\. It's time!

Haley stirred from her sleep, the light streaming in from the windows and hitting her face. Nathan had obviously forgotten about the curtains last night.

Nathan.

Haley smiled as she turned her head slightly to look at the man beside her. She slowly raked her hands through his raven hair, smiling to herself.

This man was beautiful, inside and out. He was kind,c a ring, compassionate, loving, supportive, selfless, good looking (if she did say so herself) and most of all,

He loved her.

She smiled as she felt him gently grab her wrist and place a kiss on the inside of it. She felt a wet moisture between her legs and immediately shot out of bed.

"Hales? Did you-" Nathan began to question thinking someone thing else in his sleepy state.

"No! Nathan, my water broke."

—

Haley held the pole in her hand, grasping it tightly concentrating on the drip of the fluids from the bag, through the drip and into her veins. She was slightly dehydrated and they needed to keep her fluids up given her condition as well as being in labour.

Nathan entered the room and smiled. Haley was pacing around the floor and breathing heavily as she tried to keep calm, even in labour she still took his breath away. He walked closer and placed his hand on her back, offering the ice chips he had just collected from the nurses station. She grabbed onto his arm as she tried to hold herself up as the contractions hit her full force.

She groaned loudly as Nathan chucked the ice chips on the table and let her hold onto both his arms as he stood behind her and talked encouragingly to her.

"Ok baby you can do this, just keep breathing."

"Tell me a story." She whispered, Gripping his arms tightly as she rode out the contraction.

"A story. Um, ok. Story, I can tell you a story. Uh.."

"Nathan please!" She pleaded slightly exasperated

"I'm sorry! All I can think of is the three little pigs. I don't know why but-"

"Then a memory" she interjected "just something to distract me Nathan please!"

"Ok did I ever tell you the story of these two kids, who had known each other and decided to make a friendship pact after he saved her?" He asked, quickly summarising the start of their friendship."

Haley smiled "no, I'd like that story tell me that story." She spoke, calming dos slightly as the pain lessened.

He sat them both down, continuing to hold her hand as she captured it in between hers with a death grip.

"Well, it started on June 12th, their first day of school. The two friends, Nathan and Haley, had walked into school hand to hand. She was really nervous and he was excited, their day was going fine up until lunch time when this little brat named Tommy came up and was mean to her."

"Nathan!" Haley laughed "you can't call someone else's child a brat"

"It's my story" he smirked "I can call these kids whatever I want."

Haley simply giggled as he continued his story

...

_Haley was sitting eating her lunch. Nathan had gone to the bathroom and had left his lunchbox with her to mind so she wouldn't leave where they were sitting. She smiled as she thought about all the fun they and had in school. She really was starting to like it._

_However, her mind was quickly changed as she felt a fistful of Seanad thrown into her face. "You can't sit here! girls have cooties, and you're a girl so you can't be near us!" The little boy yelled._

_Haley grabbed hers and Nathan's lunchboxes and ran inside as she started to cry at her desk, this is when Nathan came inside,_

_"Haley! The big kids are playing something called handball we have to learn!" He ran up to her but stopped talking when he saw her tears "what's wrong? Are you kidding home?" He asked concerned for his friend._

_"Tommy threw sand at me, he said I have cooties, is that bad Nathan? Am I gross? Tommy said girls give boys cooties." She cried_

_"But you're my best friend so you can't have cooties,cause I don't have them!" He explained in his own logic._

_Haley smiled as Nathan sat down next to her and began eating his lunch again_

_"Nathan. You're my best friend for always" Haley said_

_"And you my best friend forever" Nathan said with mouthfuls of PB&amp;J while Haley giggled._

—

"And they stayed friends until they were 16, when he finally realised he needed to tell her he was in love with. And they're about to have a baby and go off to college, and then they'll get married and have a dozen more kids and -"

"They'll live happily ever after." Haley whispered as she leaned her forehead against his smiling.

"And they live happily ever after. I promise" he said as he gave her a chaste kiss.

Doctor Greene entered and broke the teens from their moment

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just needed to come and see how far along you were." Doctor greened apologised

Nathan Broke away and chuckled "well then I'll quickly run out and see our friends. They've been here all night."

Nathan gave Haley one last kiss on the cheek and was out the door

"So how are you feeling Haley?" Doctor Greene asked as she checked how far dilated Haley was.

"I feel like I'm about to push a baby out of my body, extremely painful" she quipped, hoping the slight joke would lighten how scared she felt, but doctor Greene could feel the tension radiating from this young girl. She finished up and took Haley's hand before speaking

"Haley, I know none of this was planned, and I'm sure that you would've preferred this baby being conceived another way. But the fact that you're doing all this just proves how strong you are. And you have Nathan, and all your friends. I promise you it'll all be okay. You ready?"

Haley took a deep breath and smiled "yes."

"Good" doctor Greene smiled "because you're dilated 10cm. You're about to have a baby"

Nathan came in at this precise moment "how's she doing?"

"I'm about to go give birth, so pretty good all in all" she said, laying at his slightly shocked face.

"What Haley's trying to say is she's 10 cm dilated so we're going to take her into the delivery room. You're welcome to join her if you'd like."" Doctor Greene intervened

"You don't have to if you don't want to I understand" Haley spoke nervously

"Are you kidding?" He asked taking her hand as the nurses came in "I'm not going anywhere"

Haley smiled and leaned up as far as she could to meet him for a kiss

"Well then let's get you to the delivery room"

**A/N: ok! So this is slightly shorter I know! BUT I am posting the next chapter in a couple of hours, so be on the lookout! I'll PM all my rviewers when I update ch 16 and there will be a little A/N at the top saying I've posted twice today :)**

**Leave a review, let me know if there's something specific you'd like to see, who wants to Brucas as godparents or jeyton? I'm leaning more towards Brucas but let me know what you guys think!**

**Please leave a review they help me so much **

**\- maddie :)**


	16. Welcome to the world

For better or for worse ch 16

**A/N: just to let you know I listed this chapter as well as ch 15 today so make sure you've read them both! PS I know nothing about childbirth**

**Enjoy!**

16\. Welcome to the world...

Brooke paced the hallways as the rest of her friends sat in chairs, reading or watching the TV or simply staring into space. Lucas. Who had been trying to read Julia's Caesar, snapped the book shut and finally gave up

"Brooke! Will you PLEASE sit down. You've been pacing for the better half of the last six hours, You're driving me insane" he spoke with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Brooke sighed, seeing all her friends nodding their head in agreement with Lucas. She stalked over to the chair and sat on his lap, burying her head in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Sorry. I'm just worried. I really hope everything works out Luke." She whispered into his neck

"It'll be fine. Haley's strong, and she has Nathan in there with her. It's only been an hour since they went to the delivery room. We'll hear something soon."

—-—-—-—-—-

"Ok Haley one more push and you can meet your baby" doctor Greene ordered from her position.

Haley had been in delivery for almost an hour, Nathan by her side holding her hand.

"I can't. I don't want to." She cried. It hurt. So damn much.

"Hales, baby you can. One more push and we can meet him or her. I know you can Hales come on." Nathan encouraged lightly squeezing her hand.

Haley smiled up at him, this man who had been by her side. Who loved her.

She took a deep breath. "ok" she said and pushed as hard as she could, crying out as she felt her body expand and a deep tug within her, then nothing. The pain was gone and she laid back as she heard it.

A cry.

She couldn't believe something as small as a baby had caused so much pain and so much noise.

"Congratulations, it's a boy" doctor Greene said as she handed the baby over to Nathan, who sat next to Haley.

"Oh my god" he whispered in awe of the little bundle in his arms.

"I wanna see him" Haley whispered. Nathan smiled and gently placed him in his mums awaiting arms.

Haley cried as the baby wiggled slightly in her arms, his crypts now having subsided.

"Hi baby, I'm your mummy." She whispered as she kissed his forehead.

She smiled as the baby opened his eyes for the first time, his bright blue eyes.

She couldn't help but think that they looked like Nathan's, even if the baby wasn't biologically his.

"He has your eyes." She whispered. Nathan smiled looking into the baby's eyes. As silly as it sounded he couldn't help but agree with her, even if he did know where those eyes were really from. This boy was his, and no one could tell him otherwise.

"I'm so proud of you baby, we have a son!" He said in excitement as he leaned down and kissed Haley's forehead.

The trio sat in a peaceful silence until Haley whispered.

"Ryan. Ryan Lucas Scott.

Nathan smiled "Nathan, Haley and Ryan. It's perfect" he said as she smiled brightly.

—-—-—-—-—

Haley and Ryan had now been moved back into their room. Nathan and Haley were both lying in bed, with Ryan sleeping in the cot next to them.

They were enjoying the peace and quiet, until Brooke Davis entered.

"Hi tutor mum!" She squealed and raced over to hug her best friend.

"Brooke careful!" Nathan admonished, as Haley winced at the ferocity of Brooke's hug.

"Sorry!" She whispered yelled. Haley just shook her head indicating she was fine and snuggled back into Nathan's side.

"Got room for more?" Lucas asked as he entered the room, the entire group as well as mouth and Millie, and - to Haley's surprise - her sister Quinn and her fiancée clay.

"Quinnie? What are you doing here?" She asked

"I had to come see my sister and my new little nephew! You really think I'd mis my favourite sister having her first kid?" She replied as she leaned in and kissed Haley's cheek giving her and Nathan a hug before turning her attention to the now awake baby.

"He's adorable you guys!" She gushed as Nathan and Haley smiled

The baby was then passed around through the group as they made small talk for an hour, before Brooke realised something.

"Haley! You never told us, what's his name?" Brooke asked

"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot we didn't tell you. Guys, this is Ryan Lucas Scott. Ryan, this is our whole world." She said as she looked at the little baby in Nathan's arms.

"You guys, I'm honoured" Lucas whispered as he hugged Haley and Nathan.

"Well we figured if we were going to name him after anyone it should be his uncle, plus Haley wouldn't consider naming him after mice ha, Jordan." Nathan joked as he leaned down and spoke excitedly to the baby

"Isn't that right buddy? Uncle Lucas and daddy are going to teach you all about MJ though, you got to know the legends before you learn you dribble, you need something to aspire to. And MJ is the one"

The group smiled hearing Nathan not only speak to the baby, but refer to himself as daddy. "We do have something else we need to tell you guys about." Haley spoke slightly nervous.

"oh god. This isn't one of those things where you didn't realise you were having twins or something is it?" Millie joked.

Haley laughed loudly "no. I can assure you only one baby came out of me today." She joked "but we do have something to ask brook and Jake. We were hoping you would be Ryan's godparents. We couldn't decide between Brucas or jeyton as broke love to call you guys, so we decided to have an in between, but you're all as equal a part of Ryan's life I promise, and Lucas we gave him your name, and peyton I promise we'll figure out some way to honour you too we just-" she'll was cut off from her rambling as Jake spoke

"Hales, we'd be honoured too. Relax" he smiled

Brooke squealed loudly and jumped out of her chair "of course I'll be his godmother. And I promise I will kick ass at it."

"I know you will" Haley smiled "just as long as you don't say kick ass around him" Nathan joked.

"You're not upset with me are you peyton?" Haley asked nervously.

"Are you kidding? Of course not! Hales, you've been friends longer with Brooke I understand, and I get the best job, I get to spoil the kid and not have any responsibility!" She joked as the group laughed.

They were Broken from their moment as Ryan let out an ear piercing cry

"I think he's hungry, the nurse said we could try breast feeding." Haley spoke as she took Ryan from Nathan and waited for the group to leave.

The nurse, Sheila, walked into the room and helped Haley to try and get Ryan to 'latch on'

Ten minutes later and one very frustrated Ryan, and Haley, they finally got it.

"Oh my god" Haley whispered. "This feels so weird!" She laughed

"Good or bad weird" Nathan asked as he placed his arm around her shoulder, completely fascinated by how quickly she was adapting to motherhood.

"Wonderful weird" she said as a tear ran down her face. She still found it hard to believe.

She was a mother.

**A/N: I know! Another short one, but considering it's the second chapter for the day hopefully you guys are alright with that. I'm going to try and update by this Wednesday, Friday at the latest. And next chapter will be longer and more content filled!**

**Hope you guys liked what I did for the godparents, I couldn't make up my mind between Brucas or jeyton and I thought why not half-half?**

**Next chapter will have some more Ryan and parenthood scenes and some sweet moments for naley. I also realised I left the whole Rachel issue unresolved, so that will be tied up within the next few chapters too, it won't be all that dramatic don't worry :)**

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**

**\- maddie :)**


	17. The Devils Resolution

For better or worse ch 17

**A/N: hello lovely readers! I have been trying desperately to get this chapter up a week after the last, and I have (just barely) succeeded. woo hoo! I'm also working on a Brucas story for dianehermans which won't be posted for a while, but if anyone would like to read the first chapter in advance, send me a PM and I'll send you it as soon as it's done :)**

**I hope you like this chapter I know it's a bit late in terms of the storyline but I've wanted to write this bit for so long and it seemed to fit in here.**

**Enjoy! **

17\. The Devils resolution

_Three weeks later_

Haley sighed as she dropped into bed, automatically curling into Nathan's side as he kissed the top of her head, her hand tracing his chest where his heart was.

"Little guy finally went down huh?" Nathan asked

"yeah" haley replied tiredly.

Things had gone surprisingly smooth for the teens. Ryan wasn't a very fussy baby, he really only cried when he was hungry, had a full diaper or wanted some attention.

He only woke up once or twice at most In the night, and was very easy to calm - which haley was extremely grateful for. Brooke reasoned it as 'well considering the hell you went through, the world owes you a peaceful baby'. Haley giggled at the thought of her bubbly brunette bestie.

"Well we have to be up in five hours and you haven't slept much today so go on, I'll get up if he stirs." Nathan said as he wrapped his arms around her torso.

Haley couldn't even argue, she was out as soon as she laid her head down on Nathan's chest.

—

"You know little guy, of all the things I've had to adjust to, I don't think this is one I'll ever fully be able to process" She said to her infant as she fed him. Haley couldn't comprehend how close she felt to her child breastfeeding, it made her feel even more like a mother than she already was.

She finished feeding and burping Ryan and put him down for his nap. Nathan had gone to talk to the Duke scholarship rep about his and Haley's living situation on the campus and to know all the requirements for him to retain his basketball scholarship.

She was beginning to doze off in front of the TV when she was disturbed by a knock on the door. She quickly got up before the knocking disturbed Ryan, and was surprised by who she saw.

"Rachel." Haley said as she moved more into the doorway, feeling a need to protect her sleeping son from this woman.

"hi haley" Rachel spoke slightly nervous "Can I come in? I'm not here to cause trouble I promise."

"My mother always taught me never to trust the devil." Haley replied, her defences coming up.

"Please haley. I need to explain some things." Haley didn't know why, but something about the...sincerity? In Rachel's voice, made her soften. She opened the door wide and stepped to the side, allowing Rachel to enter.

They walked to the living room and sat across from each other in silence, an awkward silence.

"I know the truth about Ryan." Rachel said first. Haley stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.

"Ryan. He's Troy's kid, not Nathan's." Rachel said as Haley's eyes widened in panic.

"Relax. I won't say anything. I've known the whole time." She spoke

Haley's voice was breaking as she asked "how?"

"I was dating Troy. I found about everything, the rape, about you testifying after he OD'd. His parents never knew before you charged him and they felt I needed to know."

Haley wasn't expecting that. "I didn't even know Troy had a girlfriend." She said, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.

"We kept it a secret. We had been partnered up for an assignment and we fell for each other. His parents were so sweet and his whole family accepted me. I finally felt like I had a family."

Haley was still confused. "Why would you bully me then? You knew what Troy did. What kind of person does that to someone when they know what their boyfriend has already put them through?" Haley spoke, her tears starting to fall as her emotions overcame her.

"Because I was pregnant too."

Silence.

Haley looked up at Rachel and sighed. She felt sorry for the redhead. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Ryan. "I'm sorry" Haley said, and Rachel's eyes widened. She didn't expect haley to be so ... Sympathetic towards her.

"I miscarried really early on. But I told Troy and his parents. I knew Troy was doing drugs 'recreationally' but he never told me how much he was _really _doing them, I always thought it was just ... harmless you know?" Rachel explained as haley nodded for her to continue.

"He was, genuinely happy. He told me he was going to quit the drugs, that he'd quit for me. For our baby." She smiled as she remembered the memory. "I should've known he was in too far to get out on his own. The night after he- after he did what he did to you. I miscarried. He was devastated. He started rambling about how it was his fault and that God was punishing him for what he had done." She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realise she was crying until haley sat down next to her and took her hand in hers.

"You don't have to tell me. It's ok" Haley spoke, but Rachel just shook her head and continued. "You deserve to know. Anyways, when he passed away I just...lost it. I couldn't understand why our baby was taken and then him, and then when I found out you were going to press charges against him before he died, it all clicked. Troy feeling guilty, he thought it was his fault."

She took a deep breath as she tried to reign in her emotions

"Everything was going wrong in my life, and my problems pointed toward you. And then when I found out you were pregnant I knew it was Troy's. I'd heard you one day telling Brooke about how you wanted to wait until you were in love, or maybe even married. And I knew you hadn't gotten together with Nathan because I had tried to sleep with him when i was drunk one night at a party and he never mentioned you were dating. Just that he was in love with someone he may never have." She giggled and smiled through her tears as she saw Haley's eyes brighten as Rachel said that.

"I was mad at you. I was upset that you got to keep your baby but I couldn't keep mine. And I tried to hurt you because of that and I'm sorry. I never used to be like this, this bitchy or even this slutty. Surprisingly I used to be like you. Good. But I was tired of getting my heart broken by guys who just wanted my body, so I thought if I let them have it freely than it wouldn't matter. And then Troy came along and he put my world back into focus, and when I lost him, and our baby ... I took it out on you.

I'm sorry sorry haley, I should never have done what I did to you."

Haley nodded "You're right. You shouldn't have" she started as Rachel looked down at the ground. Haley smiled

"But, surprisingly, it's ok. I know what it's like to feel like the world owes you something. You know Rachel, we could even be friends. It seems like you need as many as you can get at the moment, it's up to you."

Rachel smiled and hugged haley, catching her off guard

"I'd like that. Thank you haley." Rachel whispered. They were broken apart by Ryan's cry piercing through the monitor.

"I better get him" Haley said "you're more than welcome to come see him" she offered.

"That's ok, I saw a photo Brooke was showing the team at cheer practice. He has his eyes, although strangely their brighter blue - more like Nathan's. No offence, but I think it's a bit too much right now with everything, I'd probably end up crying more than he is right now." She explained.

Haley nodded and led Rachel to the door

"I really am sorry haley."

"I know." Haley spoke as Rachel walked out the driveway, but stopped as haley ran out towards her calling her name.

"I'm taking Ryan to see Troy's parents. They know that Ryan is biologically his, and they wanted to meet him at least once. You could come if you want? I have a feeling they'd like to see you. Maybe they can help you too." Haley suggested.

"I'll think about it. Thanks haley"

Rachel replied before getting into her car and driving off, as Nathan's car came into the driveway. She laughed as he bolted out of the car and ran over to her.

"What the hell was she doing here!?" He said getting worked up.

"Relax. She came to apologise. And I forgave her. It was kind of hard not to."

She spoke. Seeing Nathan's confused face she spoke again "come on. I'll explain inside quickly, Ryan's waking up and we've go to Brooke's. I'm sure I'll have to go over all of it again then too." She smiled as they walked inside.

—-—-—-—-—-

"Wow" Peyton said as everyone looked on in astonishment.

"What she said" Brooke agreed.

The gang were currently all sitting on the rooftop of Karen's, with Ryan in a rocker off to the side sleeping. "I know it's a lot to digest." Haley started "But Rachel really is sorry and I've forgiven her so -"

"What? How can you just forgive her like that?" Lucas asked.

"Come on guys, she lost everything. If you were in her shoes wouldn't you feel the need to lash out at someone?" Jake argued.

"No ones excusing what she did. But she genuinely seems sorry and if Haley's giving her a chance so should we." Julian agreed with Jake.

"Look, I get where she's coming from ok? She was upset, she didn't understand why things happened to her when she didn't feel she did anything to deserve them. I know what it feels like to think the whole world is out to get you, and that everyone owes you something." Haley spoke "just try ok? For me. We're going to see troys parents tomorrow and then she's agreed to come for lunch with us. Just try please" Haley pleaded.

Peyton was the first to speak "I don't 100% forgive her, but if you think that she's honestly trying to make amends, then I'm willing to be civil, maybe even nice, for your sake Hales." The whole group nodded their heads in agreement.

Haley and Nathan smiled "thank you guys, it means a lot to me." She spoke

"Anything for you tutor girl. Now let me see my gorgeous Godson!" Brooke squealed, effectively ending the conversation.

Haley laughed as Brooke ran as fast as she could and picked Ryan up from his rocking bassinet, much to the other girls groans of protest.

"Brooke, come on you held him majority of the time since Haley and Nathan got here!" Peyton whined.

"At least you got to hold him." Alex grumbled sullenly.

"Well I got here first so I get to hold him. You snooze you lose." Brooke said, poking her tongue out at the girls.

Nathan laughed "real mature Brooke."

Brooke just stuck her tongue out at him as well as Nathan and Haley both laughed.

"Oh I can't wait until you're big enough to walk on your own, you and me are gonna take your mama and aunties out shopping, aren't we? Yes we are." Brooke spoke in a high bitch baby voice while she made faces at the little boy.

Nathan saw this as his moment to intervene.

"No. No way, you're not corrupting him." He shook his head vehemently.

"Oh come on Nate, I'll make sure he doesn't become a full on fashionista." Peyton interjected, not being able to resist teasing her friend.

"That's it. Give me my kid Brooke" Nathan stood up and took Ryan from Brooke and walked over to sit with the guys who were now playing NBA live, all the while talking to his son. "Yeah, we got to keep you away from crazy aunt Brooke don't we?" He asked the baby sarcastically.

"He's really embracing this whole fatherhood thing isn't he?" Alex pointed out.

Haley smiled at the sight of Nathan and her- their baby. "I feel so blessed. To have him and Ryan, and you guys. I still find it hard to believe how supportive he's been and how happily he's accepted Ryan. I sometimes find it a bit too good to be true." She spoke,

Brooke leaned over and wrapped her arms around Haley's shoulders "believe me tutor girl, this is a good life. Don't question it." Haley simply smiled as all the other girls joined in the hug.

—-—-—-—-—-

"Hey." Nathan spoke as he entered their bedroom "what are you still doing up?"

"I can't sleep. He go down alright?" Haley asked.

"Out like a light" Nathan said as he stripped off his shirt and jeans and walked towards the closet to get his clothes out for the morning, smiling when he saw Haley's eyes following him in the mirror.

"Enjoying the view?" He smirked.

"Oh definitely" Haley replied lightheartedly as she stretched and continued to watch her boyfriend. She giggled as he stopped what he was doing and walked back towards her, squealing as he near catapulted onto the bed, attacking her lips with his own.

They were in their own little world and before long Haley's shirt had been discarded as Nathan's lips roamed all over her skin.

"Nathan" she moaned. He smirked and looked up at her, slightly worried he might have overstepped the comfort zone. "Too far?" He asked.

"No. But I Do think we need to talk about that." She said as they both sat up and stared at one another. "I know that I have to wait three more weeks, but I'm ready Nathan." She said, only to get silence as a response.

Nathan sat for a minute, not completely sure he heard her right.

"Are you sure Hales? I don't want you to feel you have to rush into anything."

"I'm 110% sure Nathan. I love you, and I know you love me. And seeing you today, with our friends, and with Ryan. I realised that I was just scared, I thought that sex might ruin everything, but i remember Brooke once telling me it's so much more meaningful when it's someone you love, so I know that even if I'm terrible at it, you'll love me. And I'll never regret it because I love you and in that moment it wasn't about the physicality of things, it's that I finally get to be with the man I love." She reassured him.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, she could feel him smiling against her lips. They pulled away slightly breathless.

"I love you too, and you're right, it'll be meaningful to both of us because we're in love." He said "and besides, if you're terrible, it just means we'll have to practice. A lot." He joked as she giggled.

"Such a romantic" she joked.

"And you haven't even seen my A game yet."

"Lord help me if that's true." Haley sighed and dramatically flopped back onto the bed, giggling as Nathan followed her and wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her bare shirt.

"Can we wait just a little longer? I know the doctor can't think about clearing you for another three weeks anyways, but I just..I want it to be special for you. I want to take you to dinner and have a romantic evening with you. That sound ok?" He asks.

"That sounds perfect" Haley says as she kisses him one more time, before they snuggle up and drift off in the safety of each other's arms.

**A/N: OK! What'd you guys think of Rachel? Does it all make sense now, can we forgive her? So as you can tell, Naley will be having sex sometime in this story. Don't worry, it won't be really smutty or anything, I want it to be really romantic. SO, if anyone's got something they want to see on how their romantic dinner and evening should go let me know and I'll try and incorporate it. PLEASE ELAVE A REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	18. Putting Plans Into Motion

For better or for worse ch 18

**A/N: hey! Yes I'm back before a week, I can't believe it either :)**

**So this chapter is a bit of a filler, but it's slightly necessary at the same time. **

**I hope you like it **

**Enjoy!**

18\. Putting plans into motion

"Hello! Nathan where are you!?" Brooke yelled as she entered the 'naley residence' as she called it. She smirked as she saw Nathan running out of Ryan's room slightly flustered, with throw up down his shirt.

"What happened to you?" She questioned, trying desperately to hold in her laugh.

"Apparently Ryan couldn't wait until I put the towel over my shoulder." He said trying to sound annoyed, but he really didn't mind.

Brooke smiled as she saw Nathan's face light up as he talked about his son

"You know, I'm really proud of you Nathan. You're doing a good job with him, and haley." Brooke said

"Well they make it pretty easy, and I love them so it comes pretty naturally." He replies.

"Ok. So what did you call me for anyways?" Brooke said.

"I called Peyton too, she should be here soon. Just let me change real quick, Ryan's in his crib if you want to go say hi." He spoke, not even being able to finish his sentence as Brooke ran off to the nursery. He chuckled and made his way into the bedroom to change.

Meanwhile, Brooke had entered the nursery and was now seated in the rocking chair with a bubbly Ryan in her arms.

"You know kid, you're pretty damn lucky. You've got the two best parents in the world who are so in love it's sickening. And you've got all of us. You're always going to be loved you know that. And you'll look like the perfect gentlemen because I'll teach you everything. And your mum will make sure you act like the perfect gentleman. And aunt Peyton, well just don't go listening to any of her broody music ok?" She said to the baby,

"Hey!" Peyton said startling the brunette "there is nothing wrong with my taste in music!" She whisper yelled in faux annoyance.

Brooke giggled and looked back at Ryan as he slept in her arms, she put her finger to her mouth signalling for Peyton to be quiet ass she placed him into his crib and they shut the door to the nursery.

"Well let's face it P. Sawyer, Your music is broody. But I will admit you do pick some damn good music sometimes." Brooke replies.

What's that song we were listening to in the car yesterday?" She asked.

"Blind pilot. It's called half moon." Peyton replied as they reached Nathan's bedroom door and knocked. Nathan exited ten seconds later.

He and Peyton greeted each other before Brooke broke in.

"Ok, I've had enough of being in suspense! What did you call us for Nate?"

"Well..." Nathan began "Haley told me that she talked to you. About, you know. How we want to move our relationship forward. Physically." He said shyly as he felt the blush creep to his cheek.

"Aww. Look at you Nathan Scott, getting all sensitive on us," Peyton joked.

Nathan scowled in response as the girls giggled.

"Ok serious faces." Brooke said looking at Peyton then back at Nathan "yes. She told us. Now what do you need from us?" She inquired.

"I need some help, with the romantic night, I just want it to be special for her. I've got a couple ideas, I just want to know what you guys think of them." He said.

"Of course Nate. Let's hear them."

Nathan smiled widely, feeling slightly giddy. "Ok let's go downstairs, Haley should be back in about an hour from the library." He said as he hurried down the stairs, Brooke and Peyton giggling behind him at his eagerness.

—-—-—-—-—-

"Nathan? Are you guys home?" Haley called out, careful not to raise. Her Clive too much in case Ryan was sleeping. She wondered upstairs and was surprised to find the nursery empty. She walked into her and Nathan's room and smiled at the sight,

Nathan was fast asleep, pillows on both sides as Ryan slept contently on his chest, Nathan arms wrapped around his son protectively.

Haley smiled and felt her eyes water at the sight, she was so lucky to have him. She was broken out of her thoughts as Nathan's phone rang signalling a text, she looked down at the screen and frowned at the text.

_From: Brooke Davis_

_Ok, it's all set! Don't worry Nate, Haley's going to love it._

_I'll call you tomorrow with the details!_

Haley smiled as she read the text. Even though her curiosity was getting the better of her, she was happy that Nathan was making such an effort to make this as special as possible for her.

"Hey" Nathan spoke tiredly breaking Haley out of her thoughts. "What are you doing with my phone?" He chuckled.

"Sorry. Brooke texted you. You're really going all out to plan this for me aren't you?" She replied.

"Of course Hales, I love you. I want it to be romantic. And special for you." He said lovingly "now are you coming to join me?" He said as he moved a pillow and extended his arm out as she kicked off her shoes and snuggled into his side, placing her hand on top of Nathan's one which was resting on Ryan's back.

"Mmmm. This is my favourite place in the world, cuddled up with you and our son." Nathan said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Me too. I love you." She told him as started to drift off.

She smiled as she heard his tired voice,

"I love you too. Always and forever."

**A/N: OK! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I needed a bit of foreground to lead up to the romantic date night! As usual let me know what you think, I know it's s a slight filler but i hope you enjoyed it anyways, I tired To put in a little fluff for you guys.**

**REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	19. The Prelude

For better or for worse ch 19

**A/N: hey! One more chapter until the big night! Since Nathan and Haley discussed being ready three weeks before she could actually have sex, I added one more chapter in beforehand instead of jumping three weeks. I need your help with the next chapter but I'll ask you guys at the bottom so read the AN at the bottom! **

**Enjoy!**

19\. The Prelude.

The gang all sat together, at their usual table. Surprisingly they had actually found that Rachel fit well into their group. Even though Brooke and some of the girls still had some reservations about Rachel, they gave her a chance because Haley had decided to, and told them that she definitely had a good explanation for the way she behaved and she truly was sorry.

Things had gotten a bit awkward when Quinn had brought Ryan in and dropped him off early because she had got called early for her photoshoot. Nobody noticed the slight discomfort of Rachel except for Nathan and Haley. She had soon relaxed and was now playing with Ryan, making funny faces and weird sounds, as he sat happily on Haley's lap being held to her chest by Haley's hand.

"Can I hold him?" Rachel asked nervously.

"Of course" Haley asked as she handed him over. She smiled as she saw Rachel tear up slightly, but quickly wiped the, away and continued to play with Rachel. Nathan placed his arm around Haley and leaned in to whisper into her ear "you did good"

Haley smiled and looked up at him. "I did, didn't i?" She joked as they both laughed quietly "Thank you though, for helping convince everyone to give Rachel a chance. I really think this is what she needs to move on from the darkness that's surrounding her."

"I'd do anything for you Hales, you know that." He replied kissing her forehead before joining back into the conversation at the table.

"Seriously though jakey, you can't get upset that you too got caught when it was your idea!" Brooke defended Peyton.

"Hey! First of all, I thought we agreed to nix that nickname when I was ten." Brooke giggled at his grimace of the nickname "and secondly, had she told e her dad was due to come home any minute I wouldn't have been making out on the couch with her!" Jake defended.

"Wait wait wait!" Haley said holding up her hands "are you trying to tell me that Larry walked in on you two making out? He's seen that before, I don't get what the big deal is?" Haley said feeling a bit clueless.

"You're right. It wouldn't be a big deal if he saw us making out. I don't, however, think he appreciated seeing his little girl topless with her boyfriend laying on top of her. Making out on the couch." Peyton supplied.

"Oooooh" Haley said, finally clueing in.

"Yeah" Peyton said slightly awkwardly.

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about that at your place Hales" Brooke said as she clicked her tongue and winked at Haley, earning a laugh form everyone at the table as Haley's cheeks went bright red.

"Brooke!" Haley groaned as she buried her face into Nathan's chest and he laughed.

"What!? I'm just saying it's nice to have some privacy. You really should start taking advantage of it." She replied looking at Nathan

"Ok! I think we need to get going to the Bentley's house now don't we Hales?" Maths said trying to escape from his friends.

Haley smirked as she took Ryan out of Rachel's arms "not so funny anymore huh?"

She giggled as she placed Ryan into his pram and said goodbye to her friends as Nathan took their son to the car. She turned to Rachel as they bother headed out the door. "Are you ready? I know I was the one who asked you to come, but I don't want you to feel you have to do this now." Haley asked her.

"It's ok. You were right, I need to face my issues. And besides, I've missed them, they're the only real family I've ever had." Rachel said

"Ok then let's go" Haley smiled as she linked arms with Rachel and they walked to the car.

—

Haley, Nathan and Rachel stood outside the Bentley home, waiting for the door to open, they were all noticeably nervous. Haley and Nathan, because they didn't know how Ryan's grandparents would react to them, and Rachel because she hadn't seen them since her miscarriage and Troys death.

They were all broken out of their fear focused reveries when. Mary and Bryan Bentley opened the door, facing all the teenagers with wide smiles, with then turned to faces of shock as they saw the red head.

Mary ran out the door and swept Rachel up in an all consuming hug.

"Oh sweet girl, I've missed you so much!" She said as she started to cry

Rachel smiled as tears started to fall from her eyes as well "I've missed you too mama B" she whispered. Mary chuckled and let the girl go and moved to let everyone in. They all sat in the living room as Mary and Bryan held their grandson.

"He's beautiful Haley, thank you for letting us see him." Bryan spoke.

"Of course, no matter what's happened in the past you're still his grandparents, he's going to need someone to tell him the good things about Troy when he starts asking questions." Haley replied.

"I really am so sorry about what my son did Haley. I wished we had seen the path he was heading down earlier, but then he met Rachel and he turned himself around and he was doing well, I just didn't foresee any of it. I'm so sorry sweetheart." Mary spoke, taking the girls hand in her own.

"its okay Mary, really. I've forgiven your son, I know that he was trying and he was in a dark place then. I know that the drugs had a role in that night too. I'm not saying if give him for what he did completely, but Im not going to dwell on it." Haley said.

"Youre very strong, hopefully my grandson has that." Mary smiled

"Now sweetheart, where have you been?" Bryan asks Rachel

"I'm sorry Bryan, I just...I had trouble coping. Losing the baby, and then Troy. I thought it would just be better if I left you guys alone. I didn't think you'd want a constant reminder of your son and the life he could've had walking around." Rachel apologised.

"Sweetheart, you're still a part of this family, always. Why don't you stay tonight, have dinner with us? That way we can all catch up" Mary suggested.

"I'd like that. I missed you guys" Rachel said as the two parents hugged her.

Nathan and Haley simply smiled, watching the heartfelt scene in front of them.

"We'd better get going. I promised Peyton she could look after Ryan tonight while we go out. Making up for her not being the godparent and what not" Nathan spoke as Haley rolled her eyes. "She's going to hold that over us for the rest of our lives." Ha key groaned.

"Well, we'll just have to make sure she's godparent of the next kid." Nathan smirked

Haley smiled listening to Nathan plan their future. "Sounds perfect" she said.

They said their goodbyes to Mary, Bryan and Rachel and promised they would bring Ryan around again soon. They walked to the car and Haley let out a huge sigh as they drove away.

"I can't believe how nervous I was. It seems so silly now. I should've known they'd be understanding about the whole situation." Haley said as she looked over at Nathan as he drove.

He reached across and held her hand in his. "I'm proud of you, you know that? You've come so far since all of this, and I know Mary and Bryan were only expecting to ever see their grandson once, but you promised them they'd be a part of his whole life. You're pretty awesome babe." He said kissing her palm.

"It's not their fault any of this happened, and Ryan deserves to know his grandparents." She replied.

They both sat in a comfortable silence before Nathan broke it.

"So, you ready for our date night?" He asked.

"Definitely. Especially since you've been conspiring with brooke and Peyton for the last week and a half, I'm dying of anticipation." Haley dramatically stated.

"I promise babe, by tomorrow night you'll be glad you waited." He told her.

"Wait a second." Haley spoke confused. "If we're not having our date until tomorrow then why are we dropping Ryan off tonight?" She finished.

Nathan smirked and simply told her "because we won't be in tree hill for our date. Pack a bag, were leaving tonight."

"Wait. What!?" She shrieked "ok now you have to tell me what's going on Nathan!"

Nathan simply laughed and kissed her cheek at the red light.

"All in good time baby."

**A/N: ok! So that was the prelude of sorts to next chapter. Now I do need your help! What would you as readers like to see on the naley date! Where do you think Nathan's taking Haley?**

**Please leave a review and let me know!**

**\- maddie :)**


	20. The Big Date Night

**A/N: don't hate me! I know it's been three weeks instead of one since I last updated and I'm so sorry! I've been trying to make this chapter perfect, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. this chapter is really long. like 7000 words long. so hopefully it makes up for missing the last few updates :)**** I've been trying to update since midnight last night but I've had problems with the website for some reason and it wouldn't let me update!**

**I hope you like this chapter :) apologies for any spelling mistakes, I finished this at midnight.**

**Enjoy!**

**WARNING: this chapter has some M rated sections. **

**20\. The big date night**

_"I promise babe, by tomorrow night you'll be glad you waited." He told her._

_"Wait a second." Haley spoke confused. "If we're not having our date until tomorrow then why are we dropping Ryan off tonight?" She finished._

_Nathan smirked and simply told her "because we won't be in tree hill for our date. Pack a bag, were leaving tonight."_

_"Wait. What!?" She shrieked "ok now you have to tell me what's going on Nathan!"_

_Nathan simply laughed and kissed her cheek at the red light._

_"All in good time baby."_

_..._

Nathan and Haley had now each packed a bag and where headed out of town.

It had taken them a little longer to leave since Haley insisted Nathan not be in the room when she packed, wanting to keep her outfit for their date a surprise.

"So...are you going to at least tell me where we're headed? And why we had to leave tonight and not tomorrow morning?" Haley pestered Nathan as they drove out of town

"We're not going that far. Charlotte. I figured we could spend the day tomorrow at the beach house for a little while, among other things I have planned." Nathan replied trying not to give too much away.

Haley leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, you have no idea how much this all means to me. The fact that you've put so much effort into this its wonderful Nathan."

Nathan looked over at her and smiled "anything for you. You and Ryan, you're my entire world Haley James. And one day I promise, I'm going to make you Haley James Scott" he smirked as he focused on the road again while haley looked out the window and began to drift to sleep.

—

Haley was startled awake as her phone chimed, signalling a new message. She looked over at the drivers seat and saw Nathan was not there'll confused, she looked around and realised they were at a gas station, she relaxed once more and went to check her texts.

She had received three, one from Brooke and one from Peyton letting her know that Ryan was doing okay and to enjoy the date night. The third one was from Rachel.

_Hales,_

_Thanks you so much for encouraging me to go see Mary and Bryan. It helped a lot. Enjoy your date night, be safe ;)_

_\- Rachel x_

Haley blushed at Rachel's double meaning for safety, and sent a quick text back.

_I'm glad things are working out, I'll fill you in on all the details when us girls meet up after I get back! Haley x_

Haley smiled and put her phone back into her pocket and quickly shuffled into the drivers seat. She giggled as she as Nathan exit the gas station with a look of surprise on his face. He tapped on the glass and Haley rolled down the window as he leaned his head in and rested his arms on the windowsill.

"And just what do you think you're doing sweetheart?" He smirked.

"Driving the rest of the way. We're only a couple hours out from Charlotte and I know where the beach house is." She replied.

"Hales, that's sweet but I'm okay, you go back to sleep I'll rest once we get there." He argued, but Haley was having none of it.

"No way, Nathan you've been up with Ryan more than I have lately and I really appreciate that but you need your rest. Besides, you need to conserve as much energy for our date" she joked adding a wink at the end as he chuckled.

Nathan leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss "oh, what am I going to do with you baby?" He questioned aloud.

"You can figure it out in the drive, hurry up and get in!" She answered as she giggled and smacked his arm lightly so he would move

"Okay okay I'm going! Gosh no need to be so violent Hales!" He joked as he got into the passenger seat and placed her coffee in the cup holder while he held his.

I also got some Mac and cheese from the cafe down the road, so we don't have to cook tonight." He told her

"My baby thinks of everything! I'm pretty lucky aren't i?" She said

"That you are babe" he smirked as she smacked his chest "ow Hales, abuse!" He joked as he rubbed his chest.

"Oh whatever, you ready?" She replied as she started the car.

—

They had now reached the beach house, it was 9:00pm but the coupe were exhausted.

Haley pulled into the driveway and sighed "well we're finally-" she stopped short as she looked over at Nathan, who had fallen asleep with his head leaning on the window and was now snoring slightly. Haley let out a soft giggle before quietly exiting the car and moving towards the boot.

She would wake Nathan after she'd unpacked some of the things from the car. She knew he hadn't slept as much as she did the past few days and she felt bad, she knew he was just trying to make sure she was getting enough sleep to be able to look after Ryan during the day but she didn't want him to be running himself into the ground. Plus she missed sleeping beside him.

She grabbed their bags and the few groceries they brought and carried them to the door leaving them there before heading back to wake up Nathan in the car.

She reached over her seat and get my ran her hands through nathans hair, stirring him from his sleep.

"Nate? We're here, you planning on sleeping in the car for the night or do you wanna come and open the house since you have the key?" She joked as he let out a big yawn.

"Sorry, did you already take the bags? You should've woken me." He spoke seeing the bags under the dim outside light of the house near the door.

"I didn't have the heart to wake you, besides they were light. Now come on I want to have a nice hot shower and then crawl into bed."

She replied

Nathan slowly got out of the car, pausing to stretch his tired body before making his way to the entrance of the beach house.

The beach house had changed since they were last there, Dan and Deb had refurbished and renovated so the house now fit twelve people in eight rooms at the least, the kitchen had now expanded to accommodate an island bench, and they had added in a spa in their deck.

Nathan walked downstairs and through the hallway, looking at all the different family photos scattering the walls. He stopped when he said the one from his tenth birthday. The James, Scott's, sawyers, Davis', bakers and jagelski's had all driven up to the beach house to celebrate Nathan's birthday for the weekend. The photo was taken after Haley had shoved his face into the cake when he smeared some in her cheek, the result being a massive food fight between the group of friends. He smiled as he remembered the day, one of his best birthdays ever.

"hey" Haley whispered wrapping her arms around his torso from the side, as he put his arm around her shoulders kissing her forehead lightly.

"Hey" he whispered softly

Haley smiled seeing which photo he was looking at "that was a good day."

"One of the best. I still can't believe you shoved my face into my own birthday cake." He laughed

"Hey! 1, I waited until happy birthday was sung and you had made a wish and blown out the candles. 2, that's what you get for trying to out frosting into my hair on my cheek." Haley replied "you had it coming Scott" she giggled kissing his cheek.

"That's true." He couldn't exactly argue with her when he knew she was right.

Haley let out a yawn and nestled her head into his neck and planting a soft kiss.

"Come on, I want to have a shower and go to sleep." She said pulling him oust airs with her.

Nathan sat on the bed watching TV while Haley gathered everything for her shower and walked into the bathroom and stripped for her shower like usual, Nathan turned and focused his attention to her.

He couldn't help but stare. She was beautiful. He was still questioning how he got so lucky to have her in his life, to have her love him, and to be able to love her.

She looked up at him and winked as she wrapped her towel around her and walked out towards the bed. Nathan could tell from the way she was twisting her hands together she was feeling a bit nervous.

She sat down and began to brush her hair like she always did, but stopped and looked to Nathan. She knew she had to ask now before she lost her nerve. _Ugh come on Haley it's really not that hard, were never going to get want we want if we don't ask!_

She thought trying to build her courage. _Screw it_ she thought before blurting out

"Do you want to join me?"

Nathan froze, not sure if he heard her correctly. He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV before looking over at her.

"In there?" He pointed towards the shower and couldn't help the smirk on his face at the light blush that crept up her cheeks. She was adorable to him in moments like this.

"Yes. You don't have to. I just thought-" she stopped and took a deep breath to collect herself "I want you to come with me, just to shower. I just, I guess I wanted to take a mini step before tomorrow." She tried to explain.

Nathan took her hands in his and looked into her eyes "i would like that Hales. As long as you're sure?" He double checked.

Haley smiled and leaned over to quickly kiss him "100% sure. I want this Nathan."

He held her hand and led her into the bathroom with him.

Haley couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips as he stripped out if his clothing,ms he had seen him shirtless before, and she knew if that was anything to go by then she was one lucky girl. But looking at him now, he was...perfection.

She reached out and ran her hands down his abs as he groaned! Feeling his lower region stir from her action. She smiled, feeling powerful knowing the effect she had on him. Nathan moved into the shower and turned it on, making sure the temperature was good before holding out his hand to Haley for her to join him. She stepped in, suddenly feeling self conscious in front of him. She unconsciously crossed her arms to cover her breasts and looked down.

Nathan, seeing her apprehension, lifted her chin with his fingers and raised her lips to his, letting themselves get lost in the feel of each other. They broke apart when air became an issue, but Nathan rested his lips against hers and whispered "don't hide from me Hales" and gave her a quick peck on the lips before gently grasping her arms and moving them down to her sides.

He smiled at her as he kissed along her neck and down to her chest, smirking against her skin as she let out a slight moan. He ran his hands up her hips and splayed them out across her belly, gently caressing her skin. He groaned as she ran her fingers through his hair and down his back, her nails lunching into his skin slightly as she let herself be consumed by the erasure he was evoking within her.

"Is this ok?" He asked as he kept kissing her. As much as he wanted to keep going just s little bit more, he wanted her to be comfortable, he needed her to trust him.

"Yes" she let out in a breathy sigh "you can keep going a little more" she spoke, answering his unspoken, but still asked question. He loved that, the fact they were able to reassure each other and comfort the other without having to actually say something, he swore sometimes she could read his mind.

He continued to his her further, his lips stopping as he reached her breasts, and he slowly took one nipple into his mouth and gently sucked, repeating the process with the other. Haley groaned as she ran her hands through his hair, grabbing onto him as her body bowed and arched towards his eager mouth.

He removed his lips from her breasts and kissed his way back up her neck before reaching her lips once more. The pair continued their fairly hit and heavy make out session as Nathan's hands fondled her breasts, occasionally gliding down to her perfect ass, while Haley's hands wondered further down his body.

Nathan moaned into the kiss when he felt her gently stroke his growing erection.

After a couple of minutes He broke apart from her and gently held her hand with his.

"Baby, if you're not careful I'm gonna spontaneously combust" he half joked.

Haley giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a quick peck on the corner of his mouth before bending down to grab the body wash, purposefully taking longer to stand back up so as to give Nathan a view of her behind.

She ran her soapy hands through his hair slowly making her way down his body, taking extra time as she let her hands slowly roam his well defined abs, she still found it hard to believe how gorgeous this man was, and he was all hers. She finished spreading the wash down his body and let him rinse off.

He quickly stepped out from the water and grabbed her hips, lifting her feet off the ground to which Haley let out a squeal as she grabbed onto his shoulders. "My turn" he whispered, his voice slightly husky and laced with desire.

He worked his hands around her body slowly, taking his time as his hands caressed her breasts, her backside, before running his hands down the back of her legs, then up the front. He stopped as he reached the top of her thighs, silently asking her for permission. She looked into his eyes and gave a small nod, excited by what was to come.

Nathan slowly moved his hand to cup her sex. She moaned and leaned in to kiss him as he brushed his fingers over her slowly, feeling her arousal seeping out on his hand, and allowing her to savour the feeling. He pulled his hand away from her after a couple minutes, much to her audible disapproval. He let out a small laugh before reaching to grab the shower head and gently washing her, trailing his hand over her soap covered skin to remove the suds.

They both finished there shower and stepped out, drying themselves off and getting ready for bed. Nathan slipped on his boxers while Haley put on one of Nathan's shirts that she had taken from him over the years. She had always loved sleeping in his shirts and he did too.

They slid into bed and cuddled up next to each other, Haley resting her head on Nathan's chest,

"Are you ok?" He asked, slightly nervous that he may have pushed the boundaries "I know that in comparison we didn't actually do that much, but you didn't...regret it did you?"

Haley rested her hand against his cheek and looked up to meet his eyes

"Nathan, no matter what, I would never regret anything, because it's with you. You're who I want, you're who I want to experience all my firsts with." She smiled as they both leaned in and kissed each other

"I love you" he whispered as she rested her head back on his chest.

"I love you too" she mumbled before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

—

Haley woke as she felt a pair of lips on her cheek. Opening her eyes she was shocked to see Nathan, holding a tray of food.

"Good morning" he smiled down at her

"What's all this?" She asked as she stretched her arms out and sat up against the head board

"This my beautiful girlfriend" he spoke as he climbed back into bed and sat the tray down over their legs "is breakfast in bed"

Haley wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply "thank you" she said as she let him go. Nathan smiled before turning back to show her their breakfast, her favourite; chocolate chip pancakes, ice cream and bacon.

They ate in peace before laying back in bed together, relaxing and watching the waves break on the shore outside.

"So what else have you got planned for the day?" Haley asked.

"Well, our date doesn't start until 6:00, and I know Brooke and the girls took you shopping to buy a dress, so I figure we can start getting ready at 5:30, because I know you don't take that long. But, until then we've got the day to enjoy ourselves. I was thinking we could go down to beach for a while, then maybe head into town for lunch and we can look around as well?" Nathan suggested

Haley kissed his cheek before nestling back under the covers "that sounds prefect. But I need a little bit more time in bed first" she said as he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the peacefulness

—

Haley smiled as she looked at herself in mirror, twirling around to take in her whole appearance. It was now 5:50, ten minutes until date night. The afternoon had been perfect. The couple enjoyed their time at the beach splashing around in the water and making out on the shore, then headed to s little diner for lunch, before Ealing around town and buying some new records for Haley, a jersey for Nathan, as well as some other gifts for Ryan and their friends back inTree Hill.

Haley was wearing a dark purple strapless maxi dress, which was tighter around the top exposing a slight amount of cleavage, and flowed out slightly to the floor. She paired it with a pair of black heels along with her favourite earrings, necklace and bracelet - all three of which were gifts from Nathan over the years.

She sighed once more as looked at the back of her dress. Brooke and Peyton had persuaded her to buy white lace, sexy lingerie for tonight and she was still having an inner debate on whether or not she could pull them off. She gave up and called Brooke, who picked up within two rings.

"Hey Hales" Brooke and Peyton spoke, as Ryan gurgled into the phone

Haley giggled "hey, how's my baby doing?"

"Ry is fine tutor mum. You all ready for your date?"Brooke asked

"I'm still not sure about this lingerie Brooke." Haley groaned

"Oh my god seriously? Hales you looked hot as hell in it! Just chill out, besides you know Nathan will love it." Peyton interjected.

"Peyt!" Haley squealed as she felt the blush spread up her cheeks.

"Oh come on tutor girl you were fine when we bought them. Just relax, you're overthinking this all way too much." Brooke spoke, calming her friend.

Haley took a deep breath before replying "I'm just...nervous I guess. I don't want him to regret this. To regret me." She whispered down the phone.

"Haley, that boy loves you. And Ryan. What you're thinking is absolutely crazy." Brooke replied.

"Brooke's right Hales, you know Nathan loves you. Stop overthinking this and just relax. Enjoy tonight." Peyton added.

"You're right, thanks guys. Give Ryan a kiss for me okay?"

"See you Hales." Peyton's said as Brooke yelled from the background "we expect to hear details when you get back!"

Haley laughed as she hung up the phone. She took another deep breath before getting up from the bed, fixing her hair and grabbing her purse, making her way down the stairs.

"Nathan?" She called when she saw all the lights turned off. She walked around the downstairs area calling his name, only to turn up empty handed. She was beginning to think he'd forgotten. She checked outside on the wrap around deck and sighed.

He'd forgotten.

She began to walk up the stairs with every intention of changing into her sweats and crawling into bed, when she heard a knock at the door. She sighed and answered it, her face lighting up when she saw what awaited her.

There was Nathan, dressed in his suit shirt and pants, the top button undone as he had decided to forgo the tie, with a bouquet of purple wildflowers in his hand. Her favourite flowers. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Picking you up for our date. We never actually got to do that since we live together. I wanted to do this right." He smelled as he handed her the flowers "can I come in?"

Haley smiled as she took the flowers and walked into the kitchen "sure. My roommates out for the night so you're lucky, he tends to be a bit overprotective sometimes." She smirked as she filled up a vase with water and began to unwrap the flowers from their plastic confines.

"You live with a guy?" Nathan played along "he must be pretty good looking, I'm surprised you're not dating him." He smiled as he walked closer to the island bench where she stood.

Haley looked up with a smug look on her face and replied cheekily "I'm pretty sure he's gay." She giggled at Nathan's look of shock. He walked around to where she stood and placed his arms either side of her, effectively boxing her in. He leaned down and whispered in her ear "that's not very nice Hales." He gave a look of satisfaction at her obviously flustered face. Haley wrapped her arms around his neck' whispering "I'm sorry" and kissed his cheek.

She smiled sweetly "better?"

Nathan smirked at her question "I think you could do a little better" he said before kissing her again, Haley giggled as he captured her lips with his.

They broke apart after a few minutes and Nathan took Haley's hand "we should probably go. Our reservations at 7" he said as she grabbed her purse and jacket.

—

"Nathan! I'm going to fall and break my neck in a minute!" Haley squealed as Nathan very clumsily led her down the staircase. He had given her a blindfold before arriving at their destination so he could surprise her.

Haley let out a slight squeal as she once again tripped, though she couldn't fall with Nathan's arms wrapped around her. "Seriously Nathan can't I take this off just to walk down here?" She asked.

"No. It defeats the purpose then" he replied

Haley huffed "fine. But you seriously need to come up with a better idea if there's any more stairs cause otherwise we're in trouble" she joked.

Nathan smiled mischievously "you know what? You're right" he said as he stopped them both. He could see the confusion on Haley's face and chuckled as he bent down and wrapped his arm firmly under her legs, while placing the other on her back and picking her up so she had to wrap her arms around his neck.

Haley giggled as Nathan walked them down the stairs before placing her down and undoing the blindfold. Haley gasped as her eyes met the scene in front of her.

Candles filled the room, illuminating the quaint restaurant, roses were spread out around the restaurant and there was a small band in the corner. The whole restaurant was completely empty other than the waiter and band.

"Care to dance?" Nathan asked as he stretched out his hand to her. Haley nodded and took his hand as he led her to the dance floor, her right hand is in his left, while her other hand rested on his shoulder while his was on her waist. Haley placed her head down on his chest and took in her surroundings.

"Nathan. This is amazing, how did you do all of this?"

"Well I remember this was our favourite restaurant when we were kids, and dad knows the owner so he may have made a few calls for me." Nathan smirked as he spun her around the floor.

"You remembered our song." Haley whispered as the soft melody of More Than Anyone by Gavin DeGraw played. Nathan chuckled, the sounds reverberating through his chest. "Hales, I remember everything when it comes to us" he spoke honestly

Haley smiled as she felt a tear slip down her face

"It's wonderful. Thank you Nathan" she spoke as she leaned up and kissed him.

The song ended and they broke from their kiss, Nathan lead them to the tabs in the middle of the room and pulled out her chair for her before sitting down himself.

"So, what's on the menu for tonight?" Haley said.

"Anything you want. Although I did already pick entrée"

At that moment the waiter came out with two trays with a lid covering the contents of their first course.

He sat a tray each in front of Nathan and Haley. "Enjoy" he told them before walking back into the kitchen.

Haley let out a laugh when she saw what Nathan had selected for their entrée

"Food of the gods" she spoke quietly

"Yeah, if the gods are five year olds" Nathan replied

"It seems like such a distant memory when you look at everything else that's happened in our lives. Getting together, Ryan, even Rachel. It's been a busy year." She observed

"It's been one of the best of my life" Nathan spoke as he took her hand "as long as I have you, and Ryan, then my life will be complete."

"Not even basketball?" Haley replied teasingly

"Well...it's a close second, but our family is first. Always"

"And forever. Now let's eat, this looks so good!" Haley said as they dug into their meal.

—

Nathan and Haley had finished entree and dinner - Nathan's favourite, prime rib - and we're now walking down to the beach with a picnic basket in Nathan's hand to have dessert.

"So why the beach?" Haley asked as they walked through the soft sand, their hands entwined and swaying slowly between them.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked

"Well, I get the feeling everything has a theme, and it seems to relate to our past or ourselves. So...why the beach?" She replied

Nathan smiled "ah you know me too well James. The beach. Because, it's where we had our first kiss, when we were 25 at Brooke's beach party after the Ravens best Oak Lake, remember?" Nathan chuckled at Haley's bright red cheeks.

"And that's why I never trust brooke to mix my drinks!" She replied as they laughed.

"you were so drunk, and you wouldn't stop running away from me. I was trying to get you home and then you just...kissed me. It was so unexpected, and I wanted to bring it up the next day. I was going to tell you how I felt, but then the first thing you did the next morning was apologise and blame the alcohols for your actions." He said, repelling their moment.

Haley looked up at him as they stopped walking. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I was scared. I think I loved you even then, and I was so scared you'd tell me that you didn't feel the same. I valued our friendship too much to risk it." She whispered "I'm sorry"

"It's ok" Nathan smiled "besides, we got there in the end"

"We did, didn't we?" She replied as she leaned in to kiss him.

They pulled back a moment later and Nathan went to remove the contents of the picnic basket. He lay down a picnic blanket first and helped Haley sit first, then sat behind her so she was sitting in between his legs leaning in his chest. He then grabbed a thin blanket and draped it over them, before pulling out dessert, chocolate covered strawberries.

"And do you remember this?" Nathan asked

Haley giggled "when I taught you how to cook. We were 14, and all you could manage to do properly was melt the chocolate in the microwave. So we gave up on the lesson and ended up eating chocolate covered strawberries in the tree house."

They sat together enjoying their dessert and talking some more, before it got too cold, and they headed back up to the car and drove home.

—

Nathan opened the door to the beach house. Depositing their shoes, bags and jackets at the door, he lead Haley into the kitchen.

"What are we doing here?" She asked confused.

"I need a couple minutes before you come upstairs. Can you wait down here for me?" He asked, kissing her hand which was firmly placed in his.

Haley smiled "just don't make me wait too long" she joked

"Yes ma'am" Nathan said as he mock saluted before walking upstairs.

Haley grabbed a can of coke and sat up on the kitchen counter. She smiled remembering how she and Nathan used to wake up early on Sundays at the beach house, when Lydia and Deb would make their famous chocolate chip pancakes. The mother duo used to let Nathan and Haley sit up on the counter and lick the bowl of chocolate chips and batter.

Her mind then went back to their date tonight. Their, wonderfully perfect date. Haley's smile grew even wider as she thought of how lucky she was to have Nathan, and how she couldn't believe tonightwas finally here. She felt like she had been waiting all her life for this, and technically she had. She had waited so long for someone who she could give herself to not just physically, but emotionally too. She could be herself around Nathan, he loved her for who she was. She never felt like she wasn't good enough or not worthy of his love.

She was brought out of her reverie as she felt Nathan hands on her hips, spinning her around on the countertop to face him.

"All done?" She enquired,

Nathan smiled widely, his face glowing with excitement "Yep"

Haley giggled as he leaned in to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her tongue gently tracing his lower lip asking for permission, and he opened his mouth to her, slowly intensifying their kiss.

The desire between the two grew as Nathan slowly worked his way down her neck, sucking on her pulse point as she let out a moan.

Haley's hand move to his hair, gripping it like a vice, she pushed herself into Nathan more as he continued sucking her skin, making her feel weak in the knees. Haley scooted herself closer to the edge and wrapped her arms around Nathan torso. He smiled against her neck as he ran his hands up her legs, gripping her thighs as he picked her up. Haley let out a small squeal and giggled

"Nathan, you're gonna drop me!" She said as he walked up the stairs.

"Please, you're light as a feather. Besides, I want to show you my surprise he said as he placed her down at the doorway to their room.

Haley placed her hand on the knob and slowly opened the door. She gasped at the sight before her.

Nathan had lit candles and placed them in corners of them room and on the dresser, so the whole room was glowing slightly. He had had rose petals scattered on the floor, making a path around their bed.

Haley turned and looked at Nathan, her tear filled eyes meeting his apprehensive ones.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously

"I love it, and I love you. Thank you" she said as he wiped the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"You don't have to thank me Hales, I just wanted tonight to be how you planned it."

"So that's why you asked brooke and Leyton for help" Haley said as the finally piece of the puzzle clicked in her head. Nathan nodded as his lips met Haley's.

They walked slowly towards the bed, their lips never breaking from their kiss.

Haley stopped as her legs hit the bed, and her hands slowly travelled up Nathan's shirt clad chest. She took initiative this time, leaning in to kiss down his neck, then back up until she reached his ear, whispering "I love you" before she gently bit his earlobe, eliciting a groan of pleasure from Nathan.

His lips attacked her neck once more, as he felt her lean her head back slightly to give him more access she she slowly undid the buttons of his shirt, slowly divesting him of the scrap of material.

She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down to his arms, causing him to let go of her momentarily so she could push it off and onto the ground. He placed one arms around her waist, as the hand on his other arm reached unto the zipper of her dress, pulling it down at a torturously slow place.

He let the garment fall to the floor and stepped back, taking in Haley's form. She blushed under his heated gaze as he eyed what she had been wearing underneath.

"Brooke kind of figured I should wear something special for tonight." She mumbled shyly, as her mind raced, Nathan still stayed quiet, making her feel even more nervous. Did he not like it? Did he hate it?

Her nerves died down as she saw his lips quirk up into a broad smile as he responded

"You look beautiful."

Haley giggled slightly embarrassed as he continue to undress what little their was left on her with his eyes.

She stepped forward and placed her hands on the edge of his pants,her fingers slipping inside just slightly. She smirked as sh felt Nathan's arousal against her body.

"I think you're a little overdressed." She whispered seductively. Nathan's answering grin was bright.

"Well then, I guess you'd better do something about that huh?" He replied

Haley kept her eyes on his deftly unbuckling his belt, pulling it out of the waistband and throwing it haphazardly behind her. She broke away from his gaze as she unbuttoned his pants and slowly pulled them down along with his boxers,

He stepped out them before pulling her her flush against him once more and pushing them both down onto the bed, he lay astride her, kissing the exposed area of her chest, as he slowly unclipped her bra. He peeled it away from her and threw it down on the ground without looking, gaining a small laugh from Haley. He let his mouth wander further down her body, reaching her breast he slowly kissed over each one, before taking her nipple into his mouth, sucking slowly as he rolled the other between his fingers, elongating them.

Haley moaned loudly, pushing her chest up into him, silently pleading for more. He did as she wanted and gently bit down on her sensitive nipple.

"Oh my god" she moaned out as Nathan continue to please her.

He moved himself back up her body before planting a quick kiss on her lips, as he looked down at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked once more. Haley vigorously nodded her head, unsure of her ability to speak as she was overcome with pleasure. She placed her hands on each side of his face and guided his lips back down to hers.

She slowly let her hands move, raking them up and down his back much to his approval, as she slowly felt down his abs, letting one hand slip further down, wrapping around his erection, he gasped as she slowly moved her hand up and down his shaft, using the slight bit of precum that had seeped out to ease her ministrations.

"Hales" he moaned into the crook of her neck as she continued to please him.

She surprised him even further when she ceased her actions and rolled them over so she was sitting astride him. She continued to kiss dos his abs as her hand continued its work on him. Nathan placed his hands on her hips, pulling at her underwear in question, Haley lifted herself off him slightly so he could remove the last barrier between them.

"Do you want to be on top? Or would you rather I was?" Nathan asked feeling a slight blush against his cheeks. He knew it was slightly awkward to ask during such a heated moment, but he needed her to be comfortable.

"Let's just start with you on top and we'll go from there" she answered, she was surprised by how confident she felt in this moment. Seeing the love and adoration in Nathan's eyed calmed the butterflies that were previously fluttering around in her stomach.

Nathan kissed her as he gently rolled them back to their previous position. He sat up and reached into the bedside drawer, handing her a condom. With slightly shaking hands, haley placed the condom onto his dick, letting her hand run up and down him once more, enjoying the control she had over him, she enjoyed knowing she could make him feel this way.

Nathan grabbed her wrists and slowly moved her arms above her head. He held them there momentarily as she kissed down her toned stomach, his hands moved to her hips as his mouth continued to kiss down to her pubic hair, he smiled against her skin as she let out a moan, he looked up as he felt her hands rake through her hair. She was laying with her head thrown back, her mouth forming an 'O' of satisfaction.

Nathan let his tongue run over her lower lips, before slipping inside her. He carefully moved his tongue further up and took her clit into his mouth as well, as he felt Haley push her hips up to meet his eager mouth.

"Oh, Nathan" she yelled out as she slowly began to ride his face.

Nathan could feel her begin to reach her release and moved back. They had had oral sex before, but tonight was different. Her wanted to be inside He, needed it.

"I'm sorry, it might hurt a little" he said as he kissed her again belfry resting his forehead against hers as she whispered

"I know. Just, go slow" she said as he lined himself up at her entrance, and slowly pushed inside himself her.

Haley squirmed slightly as she felt a twinge of pain as Nathan entered her. He stilled once inside her, letting her get use to the feel of him. "You ok?" She heard him whisper

Haley nodded "yeah. It feels good" she whispered in response. Nathan slowly slid in and out of her, letting her get use to the feeling and trying to increase the pleasure for both of them.

Haley wrapped her legs around him, locking her ankles at the small of his back. She pushed him slightly, urging him to move faster as she met him thrust for thrust.

Nathan could feel his release building, and slowly stimulated Haley's breasts and nipples with one hand, while his other hand moved down to stimulate her clit.

"Nathan, I'm almost there" she moaned as her hands gripped his shoulders.

"I know, me too" he replied, his voice gruff and heady with arousal

Nathan trusted harder and faster, pinching her clit more. Moments later he felt Haley clamp down around him as she came.

"Nathan" she screamed out as her orgasm hit, triggering. Nathan release as he came, moaning his name into her neck. They rode out their orgasms before Nathan collapsed on top Haley. They lay there for a few minutes as she slowly ran her fingers through Nathan's hair, while his fingers skimmed up and down her side.

He slowly pulled out of her, before lying down beside Haley's and pulling her into his arms, her head resting on her chest as her hand Kay over his heart. The couple lay there for almost an hour, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, and enjoying the calm that surrounded them.

"How do you feel?" Nathan asked after a few minutes

"Wonderful." She replied as she looked up at him "thank you, for everything. I love you so much Nathan Scott"

"I love you too Haley James" he said she he leaned down to kiss her.

Haley rolled on top of him and straddled him, "wanna go again?" She asked cheekily

Nathan groaned dramatically "God you're gonna be the death of me James"

"Yeah but what a way to go" she retorted as the pair laughed before kissing again.

—

Nathan wake up the next morning to an empty space next to him. Haley had already gotten up, he could hear her singing from the kitchen. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and walked downstairs to find his girlfriend, in his dress shirt form last nights making chocolate chip pancakes.

Nathan smiled as he came up behind Haley and swiped his finger through the bowl, collecting a large amount of batter on his finger and placing it in his mouth.

"Hey!" Haley giggled at Nathan's actions.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around Nathan's neck.

"Morning boyfriend" she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him

"Morning girlfriend" he replied as they kissed.

They both got caught up in the moment and before they knew it, Nathan had lifted Haley onto the countertop. He legs were wrapped around him once more and his hands moved up her legs. He was almost at the apex of her thighs, when the door slammed against the wall as it opened, causing the couple to jump apart in shock.

"Hello!" They heard brooke yell out. She soon entered the kitchen with Ryan in her arms, followed by Lucas, Peyton, Jake, Julian and Alex.

"Well well, looks like you finally took dad vantage of your privacy." Alex commented as Haley jumped down from the countertop and went to hug her friends.

"Um...no offence but what are you guys doing here?" She inquired.

"Lover boy didn't tell you he invited us to spend the next two weeks of the holidays here with you guys?" Peyton replied as Haley turned to look at Nathan, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

Nathan shrugged "I kind of got a bit sidetracked with...other things" he said, trying to discreetly refer to last night.

The whole group laughed at Nathan's awkwardness. He simply glared at them all and went to pick up Ryan from Brooke's grasp, as Haley went back to making pancakes.

The rest of the group went to put their things in their rooms before coming back down for breakfast. Nathan smiled as Ryan giggled and gurgled happily in his fathers arms. Haley smiled at the scene.

"He loves you you know." Haley said matter of factly.

"I love him too. And you" he replied "sorry I didn't mention the gang coming, I wanted to surprise you."

"Well you're just full of those lately" Haley joked "but I don't mind, I missed them and my baby."

Nathan then sat down as he grabbed Ryan's formula from the bag and fed him. He and Haley and been slowly trying to get him used to a bottle, so that he would be ok when Haley went back to school.

Haley smiled as Nathan finished feeding and burping Ryan, then putting him back in his carrier since he had fallen asleep.

Nathan came up behind Haley and wrapped his arms around her.

"Need some help?" He asked

"I'd love that, thank you" Haley replied as Nathan leaned down to kiss her

"Alright enough of that!" Jake yelled out as he entered the room, effectively killing the moment between the two.

"Remind me why you invited them?" Haley joked as Nathan laughed.

**A/N: ok! That is the new chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it, I tried really hard to get it all romantic and stuff but I realised if I kept trying to edit it then it would just be terrible.**

**Let me know what You thought, i love reading your reviews and knowing what you think of the story, it really helps me!**

**\- maddie :)**


	21. Cabin Full of Friends

For there or for worse ch 21

**A/N: hey everyone! I know I'm slightly behind with updating this but schools been hectic, I'm trying to update every week I promise!This story is coming to a close, probably a few more chapters, with a few time jumps and then an epilogue. This chapter's slightly more fluffy and friendship. I got a PM and I think a review asking for a little more Jeyton a while back, and while it's not drama, it's more fluffy I did add it in for you, so I hope you all like it :)**

**Enjoy!**

IMPORTANT: I realised I never actually added in dates to this story, so for the sake of the storyline and timeline well say that help goT pregnant in March, therefore had Ryan late November, so it's now nearing christmas, which ties into my storyline!

**21\. Cabin full of friends**

Haley, Brooke, Peyton and Alex had been strolling down the streets of Charlotte, popping into boutiques, record stores and second hand bookstores. They had decided to have a girls day out, while the guys had a day at the house.

They had taken a break from shopping and were now sitting inside the same cafe that Nathan and Haley had lunch in yesterday.

"So Haley. How do you feel?" Alex asked

"Hungry" Haley replied, not seeing the meaning behind Alex's question.

"Okaaaay, clearly she's still in lala land, so I'll rephrase. Hales, how do you feel after last night?" Peyton stated

"Ohhh" Haley finally clued in

"Yeah" brooke reiterated

"Deliriously happy" Haley said as she blushed slightly

Brooke squealed "I'm so happy you two are together!"

"Brookie, they've been together for almost a year now" Alex said

"Yeah but, we honestly thought this day would never come. If it wasn't for Ryan, those two knuckleheads would still be in the friends zone" she replied

"Hey!" Haley defended, but then shrugged after a minute "actually you're right. We probably would be" she laughed.

"So tell us about the date! I mean, we helped Nathan plan where, but not the how and specifics of the night" Peyton asked

Haley explained the whole night. The restaurant, dinner, the beach, the candlelit room, the perfection of the whole night.

"Wow. I don't think Julian's ever made that much of an effort" Alex joked "you're pretty lucky Hales"

Haley smiled "I am aren't I? I can't believe how lucky I feel to have him, and Ryan. And all you guys too" she replied "I really love you all, you know? If it wasn't for all of you, I don't where I'd be" she finished

"You'd be good old bookworm Haley James. Peyt would be even more of a tortured artist - hey! Brooke said as Peyton elbowed her ribs, earning a giggle from the table, before she continued "Als and I would probably be tight like we are now since we were both pretty...friendly, before. Jake would be the nice quiet guy, Lucas would still be broody and nathan, who knows? He'd probably have a dozen girls in his bed by now. You got no idea how good it was that we all grew up together" brooke finished

"Amen to that" Peyton said raising her glass "to amazing friends, and even better family" she toasted as everyone clinked their glasses together.

Julian, Jake, Lucas and Nathan were all sitting out on the deck, enjoying their burgers and beer which lucas had managed to get a hold of. Ryan was sitting in a rocker in the middle of all the sofas the guys were taking up, his little arms grabbing at the toy Nathan was holding above his head - his favourite Ravens teddy bear.

Jake smiled "you know, you're kinda of a natural at the this whole dad stuff"

Lucas and Julian laughed "I gotta agree, it's kinda creepy you're so good. You sure you don't have any kids out there we don't know about?" Lucas joked.

"Haha" Nathan deadpanned "I just, I love him. And Haley. And I don't want to stuff anything up with them, so I made sure that I was prepared before he came. I wanted to do him and Hales proud."

"Well, mission accomplished. Dad" Julian added as he took a bite of his burger "so what's the plan for tonight?"

"I think we're all just hanging out at home. Haley said something about cooking a big dinner since we're all together, and it's the last holidays before we graduate, so she wanted to commemorate that" Nathan replied.

"Haley makes the best food. I love Peyton, but she can't cook for shit. She tried to make me chocolate chip cookies once, and she thought a pinch of salt was the size of my hand. Needless to say, they weren't my favourite food anymore" Jake said as the guys laughed.

"I know what you mean, Brooke and Alex tried to cook brownies once for Haley's birthday, and ended up almost burning the house down" Lucas laughed.

"Hey!" Brooke yelled as the girls entered the house "I set off ONE smoke detector and your mum came running in and yelling like I had burnt the house down" Brooke defended.

Haley giggled as she picked up Ryan and sat beside Nathan.

"Hey ry, did you miss mama?" She said in a slight baby voice, to which her son giggled in response as he drooled down her arm

"I'd take that as a yes" Nathan laughed as he wiped Haley's arm.

Brooke, Peyton and Alex went and sat next to their respective boyfriends on the other couches as the sun started to set. "I can't believe you've been gone the whole day" Jake said

"Aww, did You guys miss us?" Alex joked, her voice changing as if talking to a small child.

"I think a better question is, how much stuff did you guys buy? You were gone for five hours" Julian replied to his girlfriend.

Haley laughed at his question "not much really. Well, expect Alex and brooke. I swear they bought half of every boutique we went into"

Lucas groaned "ugh, and you're both in my car. I don't think all that shit is gonna fit"

"Hey! I only bought necessities" Brooke defended as Lucas raised an eyebrow at her

"Ok, so I may have bought some more perfume. And shoes. And a new handbag. Oh! and this REALLY cute -"

"Brooke! We still have two weeks here, I'm gonna have to make a trip back to tree hill tomorrow just to make sure we've got room in the car for the rest of the stuff you buy! He groaned again.

Nathan chuckled "relax Luke, I brought my truck, there's a whole bed of space"

Lucas sighed dramatically "thank god" to which brooke slapped him on the back of the head "watch yourself mister, or you're sleeping on the couch" she glared.

Lucas wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead "I'm sorry pretty girl, you know I'd drive to tree hill tonight if you wanted me to" he spoke as she kissed his cheek

"I think I'm gonna be sick from all this love" Haley joked as Nathan chuckled

"Like you can talk!" Brooke rebutted. "What's that supposed to mean?" Haley replied

"Um...considering the floor show you gave us this morning consider it payback. Or should I say countertop show? You know we never actually got an explanation for that" Brooke teased as Haley blushed and buried her head in Nathan's chest.

"I didn't know you were going to be here otherwise I would've been more...conservative" she replied feeling embarrassed.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to bleach my eyeballs to get rid of that image" Julian spoke as he shivered with disgust"

"Hypocrite!" Peyton yelled "you forget I walked in on you and Alex in the janitor closet at school" she replied

"Well I walked in on you and Jake in the locker room!" Alex defended. Peyton was quiet for a minute before blurting out

"Well Lucas and Brooke did it in Nathan's room once"

"Peyton!" Brooke squealed as she and Lucas both blushed

Peyton covered her mouth realising what she said, as Jake, Julian, Alex and Haley all tried desperately to hold in their laughter at the look on brooke, Lucas and especially Nathan's face.

"I'm sorry! I didn't have anymore on Alex!" Peyton replied as an explanation

"Wait! You guys had sex in my bed!?" Nathan yelled "I'm gonna have to burn my entire bedroom now"

"Babe, I think you're being slightly overdramatic" Haley said trying to hid the giggle that was threatening to escape. Nathan glared at his friends

"This isn't funny. Ugh I'm never gonna be able to sleep in there. Ever" he spoke, pulling a disgusted grimace, which caused the rest of their friends to burst out laughing.

"I'm gonna kill you P. Sawyer" Brooke said as she grabbed her blonde friend by the waist and slightly lifted her towards the pool

"Brooke" Peyton spoke once she realised what Brooke was about to do "don't you dare!" She said as brooke shoved Peyton into the pool. Peyton made a gigantic splash, before resurfacing moments later spluttering. She eyed Brooke as she slowly made her way out of the pool. Brooke's eyes widened as she realised Peyton's thinking.

She quickly ran around the other edge of the pool, Peyton hot on her heels. She was almost free when she slipped and made a very inelegant splash into the pool. Peyton burst out laughing, dropping to her knees at the edge of the pool as she fought to catch her breath.

"That. Was. The best thing. Ever" she laughed as brooke resurfaced "what can I say? Karma's a bitch Brooke" she chuckled.

Alex then decided to have some fun and got Jake, Julian and Lucas to lift Peyton up and chuck her back into the pool with brooke, before they all jumped in themselves. Haley and Nathan laughed at their friends, fully clothed and splashing around in the pool. Ryan had fallen asleep in his mums arms, so she carefully put him in his rocker before the couple joined their friends.

It was now 7:30 and Haley was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. The group were all sitting in the adjoining living room, while Nathan had gone to help Haley serve dinner.

Haley had decided to prepare her famous chicken pasta in cream sauce.

They group had made light conversation around the table while they ate, content with the atmosphere. They had all moved into the living room. Jake and Peyton were snuggled up on the lounge, brooke and Lucas on the love seat, while Nathan and Haley had taken the single chair and ottoman, with Haley sitting in between Nathan's legs, her back to his chest.

"So. We have some news for you guys" Brooke said to Haley and Nathan

"That tones make me nervous tigger, what is it?" Haley replied

"Well, you know at the end of this month were all going to college" Brooke started

"Don't even start on college, I can't believe you're all gonna be halfway around the country! Nathan and I are going to miss you so much" she replied

"Well" Jake said sitting up "how would you feel if we weren't all halfway around the country, but next door?"

"Wait. Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Nathan caught on

"If you think we're telling you were all going to college at or near Duke then yes!" Peyton said

"Jake and I are going to go to Duke, Peyton's going to be boarding at some art school an hour away for the first semester to get her certification course done, and brooke will be at the Carolina Fashion Institute for the first year, then she studying abroad at Duke. That way we can all still go to our dream schools, without actually having to go to them for the whole four years" Lucas explained.

Nathan and Haley sat there in shock. It wasn't until Haley realised she was crying that they spoke "you guys this is amazing! I'm so happy we're all going to be together"

Haley said as Nathan wrapped her in his arms

"Me too. Plus now we've got extra people to help us look after Ryan". Nathan joked

Haley slapped him on the chest and sat up, grabbing her wine glass of soda.

"Well, I would like to make a toast. To all my wonderful friends, who have been the best family I could've ever asked for. You guys have been there for me through everything and I love you so much" Haley said as she started to tear up.

"Cheers" everyone replied as they clinked glasses.

It was now ten o'clock at night, and the gang were all getting ready for bed. They had stayed up talking and playing several round of 'I never' before they decided to call it a night.

Nathan lay down on the bed waiting for Haley to come out of the bathroom. Ryan was snuggled comfortably on his chest sleeping, he refused to stay in the cot and kept crying every time Nathan out him down.

Haley walked in to the room and smiled at the sight. She quietly made her way over and crawled into the bed next to Nathan, laying her head on his outstretched arm and moving Ryan to lay in between the two of them. She gently kissed her sons forehead before looking at Nathan

"You're an amazing dad. You know that right?" Haley stated.

Nathan smiled and reached forward to kiss her lips "well you're an amazing mum"

"Awww you guys!" Brooke whisper squealed, causing the couple to jump in shock "it's not possible to be this nauseatingly cute" she replied sarcastically.

"What the hell are you doing in here brooke?" Nathan whisper shouted, cautious of his sleeping son.

"I'm sorry, but I kinda need your baby mama" brooke said pointing at haley "Peyt's on the verge of having a meltdown right now so I need you downstairs, ASAP"

"Why is Peyton having a breakdown?" Haley questioned, barely able to focus feeling so sleepy.

"She forgot she hadn't picked out anything for Jake's birthday" brooke replied

Nathan chuckled softly "she forgot her own boyfriends birthday is in two days?"

"No idiot, she just forgot about the whole gift aspect of the day. And then she put her foot in it and told him she got him something she thinks he'll really love so now he's kind of excited for it" Brooke stated.

Haley chuckled this time as she got out of bed "ok, let's go fix this 'crisis' quickly" she said using her fingers to quote _crisis_ "the sooner we fix it the sooner I can sleep"

"How are you tired? It's 10:30. You're getting old Hales" Brooke smirked

"You try looking after a baby brooke"

"Yeah, somehow I don't think it was Ryan's fault for your lack of sleep last night" Brooke giggled as Haley blushed

She quickly turned brooke around and shoved her out the door, following her downstairs.

Haley and brooke entered the living room to see a stressed out Peyton sawyer pacing the floor

"You're gonna burn a hole in the floor if you're not careful" Haley joked as Peyton's head snapped up.

"Thank god you're here! I'm dead meat" Peyton responded as she dropped down on the couch.

Haley chuckled at her dramatics as she sat down on one side of the couch, crossing on leg over the other and leaning one leg up so she could rest her chin on her knee

"Now, explain what I'm being dragged out of bed for?" Haley asked

"Peyton here needs our help picking out a gift for Jake's birthday and she didn't like my ideas, and you're the more romantic out of us so we figure it was your area of expertise" Brooke replied.

"I've got no idea what to get him! It's like my mind blanked! I can't believe I told him I got him an amazing gift he's going to be so disappointed! Oh my god he'll probably break up with me or laugh in my face or tell me I'm a horrible girlfriend or -"

"Peyton!" Haley snapped cutting off her friends rant "I think the lack of sleep is getting to you. Relax, I think I've got an idea"

"Already? Damn you're good tutor mum" Brooke stated as Peyton shook her head in agreement.

"Okay we haven't got a lot of time, the boys are going to realise something's up when we're not all in bed. Be ready to leave at 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning, I'll explain on our way to the shops" Haley said as she got up and walked up to her bed, leaving a very confused and anxious brooke and Peyton behind.

**A/N: ok so I've already started next chapter, so it will be up in a week, I'm 100% sure I will make my deadline I promise! As always, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter and what you think Jake's getting Peyton for his birthday.**

**\- Maddie :)**


	22. Jake's Birthday

For better or for worse ch 22

**A/N: so there's not really much to say today, I'm only a day late with my update but I have heaps of assignments so I might be a few days late with next weeks update but other than that I hope you guys like this chapter. Enjoy!**

**22\. Jake's Birthday**

Haley, Peyton and Brooke all quietly walked out of the house and quickly got into the car. Both Brooke and Peyton were bopping up and down in their seats waiting for Haley to explain.

"Ok, I can't wait hales. What are we getting Jake!?" Peyton almost yelled.

"A guitar" Haley simply replied.

"What? Why?" Brooke asked.

"Did you know Jake can sing?" Haley asked

"Yeah, he does it in the shower all the time. I tell him he's amazing but he doesn't seem to believe it" Peyton answered.  
"Well, remember that week when Nathan went to Duke to talk about his scholarship and our living situation? Well, Ryan was really fussy because Nathan was gone, and I hadn't slept very well because of it. Lucas and Brooke were out on a date, and Peyt you were hanging out with your dad, so I called Jake and he came over to help"

…..

_Haley raced to the door as soon as she heard it knock, practically ripping it off its hinges.  
"Thank god you're here!" She cried as she hugged him.  
"Hales relax. What happened?" He said trying to calm his obviously distressed friend._

"_Ryan. He just, won't stop crying. I haven't slept in 48 hours. He misses Nathan, I miss Nathan. And he can tell I'm frustrated which is making him even more upset" Haley replied._

_Jake let out a soft chuckle. "Ok, go upstairs and rest. I'll handle Ryan"  
"Are you sure?" She asked  
"Totally. I used to babysit my little cousin Jenny for my Aunt and Uncle all the time, I'll be fine. Go" He nudged her towards the staircase._

_He picked up Ryan from his bassinet from the main living room, and carried him downstairs to the 'den' that Lydia and Jimmy had allocated for the kids to all hang out in._

_He placed Ryan in his crib in the room and went to the cupboard to grab Haley's guitar, Ryan's cries had eased somewhat but he was still fussing. Jake gently plucked at the strings and began to sing 'Someday' by his favourite singer, Bryan Greenberg._

…_._

_Haley had woken up about an hour later. She walked downstairs but stopped as she heard a soft tune, and melodic voice from further downstairs. She walked into the den, unnoticed by Jake, as he sat next to Ryan's crib singing 'Northern Wind' By City and Colour._

_Haley could see that Ryan was now sleeping, for the first time in 48 hours, and sighed in relief. She entered the room furthered and softly clapped as Jake finished singing._

"_Hey, you have a good nap?" He asked._

"_Yeah, thank you for staying" She replied as she sat next to him "I didn't know you could play. Or sing"_

_Jake smiled "Growing up, Dad always thought I would play basketball. I loved it, I really did. But then, we had this music class in the sixth grade, and I fell in love with music. I always knew I'd either grow up and play basketball or play music. I guess, music won my heart in the end" He smiled._

_Haley leaned her head on his shoulder "You should try singing in public. I have a feeling that voice of yours will take you places" _

_Jake chuckled "Peyton said the exact same thing when she heard me singing in the shower"_

…..

"I remember him telling me his cousin broke his guitar one night when he was drunk, and he never replaced it. So…we're getting him a guitar. That way he can start to try and achieve his dreams again" Haley finished telling her story.

"I can't believe I forgot Jake wanted to sing. I remember telling him I could sing him when I start my own label" Peyton smiled at the memory "Thank you Hales, it's a perfect gift"  
"And it's good we're going with the guitar expert of the group" Brooke spoke, looking at Haley as the girls laughed.

…

"I can't believe we got it. This looks awesome!" Brooke squealed

Haley laughed "Brooke I've never seen you this excited when we go shopping before"  
"Well you can't blame her Hales, we found the exact make and model of Jake's old guitar. He's going to love this" Peyton smiled

The girls were heading back to the car when Peyton suddenly stopped in front of a poster, causing Brooke and Haley to crash into her.  
"What is it P?" Brooke asked as they both looked up at what she was seeing

Peyton smiled "I think I just found another birthday gift for my man"

…

Peyton quietly walked into her and Jake's bedroom in the cabin. She smiled seeing Jake sprawled out on his stomach, his right arm under the pillow his head was resting on, his left arm stretched out where across Peyton's side of the bed, lightly snoring.

She smiled and slowly climbed onto the bed, placing her legs on either side of Jake's back, effectively straddling him. She leaned down and kissed his cheek, feeling him slightly stir awake  
"Happy Birthday Handsome" She whispered as he smiled.  
He suddenly rolled over, taking Peyton with him, so that he was now laying on top of her. He kissed her gently before replying "Thank you gorgeous"

Peyton smiled and kissed him once more, letting the kiss escalate slightly. She pulled back from him after a moment and stood up.  
"Come on" she said as she hit his back "Haley's making breakfast" Jake quickly shot up, knowing Haley would make her famous choc chip pancakes, his favourite.

They walked down to the kitchen hand in hand, to be greeted by all their friends, who wished and hugged Jake. They all sat and ate breakfast together, laughing at Ryan's attempts to grab the pancake from Nathan's fork as he held him.

About an hour later, they were all sitting in the living room giving Jake their gifts. The group had purchased tickets to the NBA Grand finals for him, Lucas, Jake and his Dad – who was coming down especially for the day as a birthday present.  
"thanks guys, this is awesome" He smiled at his friends

Peyton nervously stood up and grabbed the big box with an envelope stuck on it, from behind the couch her and Jake were sitting on, and sat back down next to him. Jake could see she was nervous from they way she was wringing her hands together and bouncing her knee. He smiled and placed one hand on her knee and kissed her cheek instantly calming her

"Thank you" he spoke as she looked at him  
"You haven't even opened it" she replied  
"It doesn't matter. I'll love it no matter what, because it's from you"  
He leaned down and picked up the envelope, but Peyton stopped him.  
"Actually, open the box first" She instructed. Jake shrugged and did what was asked. He ripped the paper from the box and gasped as the gift came into view.

"Peyt…" he had no words  
"Hales kind of helped me out. She told me about how you helped her out when Nathan was at Duke" She explained as he wrapped his arms around her  
"it's perfect. Thank you" he said as he kissed her

Peyton smiled as they broke apart and clapped her hands together as she bounced in her seat.  
"Now, open the envelope. This one I picked out all on my own" she smiled proudly.  
Jake opened the envelope and smiled as he held the two tickets in his hand and showed them to the group, smiling at Haley as he remembered the memory Peyton had mentioned  
"Bryan Greenberg live"

"We ssaw the poster at the mall and Peyton thought you'd like them" Brooke supplied  
"I do" he replied as he kissed Peyton's cheek "Thank you, and thanks to you guys as well. It's definitely a birthday to remember" He said as they all smiled at him.  
"Alright! Enough sappiness. Jake whip out that guitar, I want to hear this amazing voice that Hales and Peyton rave about" Brooke said earning a chuckle from the group as they all relaxed together in the cabin.

**A/N: OK! So, not the best ending to the chapter but I'm starting to wrap up this story :) I hope you liked the Jeyton bit. I always had the guitar in mind but I really liked your suggestions for concert tickets so I threw that in there too!  
I'm working on a multi chapter Brucas story for DianeHermans and I'm also working on a fluffy Chicago PD stoy which circles around Linstead! If anyone has any story suggestions they'd like me to write please let me know! And don't forget to review they mean the world to me**

\- Maddie :)


	23. Interruptions

**A/N: Hey! I'm back on time this week :) I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. This chapter is still quite fluffy but naley12 asked for some cute Naley scenes so hopefully I delivered! I borrowed a Brulian scene for part of this to use for Brucas, and also copied a little scene on between Naley that I used in the beach scene, let me know if you know which part!**

**Enjoy!**

**WARNING: Some parts of this chapter are rated M**

23\. Interruptions

Haley opened her eyes as she felt a pair of lips making their way down her neck. She smiled as her hand reached up to run her fingers through Nathan's hair.  
"Good morning" she whispered as he kissed her lips  
"I've been trying to wake you for the past ten minutes" he replied.

Haley bit her lip, recognising the look in his eyes. She glanced over at Ryan, who was sleeping peacefully in his crib at the other end of the room. She looked back up at Nathan, who was silently questioning whether she wanted to continue. She responded by grasping the back of his neck and pulling him down to meet her lips.

They hadn't had a moment alone together since they first had sex. Suffice it to say they were both needing some alone time. Badly.

Haley was brought out of her thoughts as Nathan detached his lips from hers and resumed slowly working his way down her neck, towards her chest. Haley was biting her lip hard to supress the moans threatening to escape. They were finally alone and she didn't need anyone waking up and interrupting them.

"Nathan" she whispered through a breathy moan "We can't do this"  
Nathan whined as he stopped his ministrations and hovered his face over hers "Hales, I haven't had you to myself all week. I need you"  
Haley chuckled at his slightly childlike attitude. She reached her hand up to caress his cheek.  
"I need you too, but there's six other people in this house who are going to –" she stopped abruptly as she felt Nathans hand trailing up her inner thigh. She groaned as she kissed him once more, giving in. "We have to be quiet" she muttered against his lip as Nathan chuckled.  
"Don't look at me" he retorted  
"Hey!" She whispered "I'm not that bad"  
"Babe, you could wake the entire household" he laughed as she mock pouted.

"Well then I guess we shouldn't do this if I'm so loud" She retorted as she moved to stand up, but Nathan tightened his grip around her waist preventing her from moving. She smiled as he kissed her neck  
"You know I'm only kidding babe" he whispered against her neck as his hands moved to the hem of her shirt, lifting it up to reveal her tanned skin.  
He kissed all over her toned stomach, before moving to her breasts, taking one nipple in his mouth and the other in his hand. Haley let out a soft moan as she raked her nails through Nathan's hair.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her toes gripping onto the waistband of his shorts, pushing them down his legs till they reached his ankles. He looked up at her and smirked, lifting his body slightly, forcing her legs to unlatch from around him, and slowly peeled her underwear off.

He rolled them over so she was now straddling his lower section. Haley leaned down and trailed kisses from under his ear to the base of his neck. Nathan removed one of his hands from their grip on her waist, and slowly trailed it south, through the smattering of hair covering her womanhood until he reached her clit. He gently pinched it between his forefinger and thumb, eliciting an arousing moan from Haley.

He groaned as she grinded her hips slightly, creating a friction between both their lower regions. He was just about to enter her, when the door swung open, and Lucas walked in.  
"Hales, Nathan Breakfast is-" He stopped in his tracks as he saw his best friend and cousin, in a less than ideal position. He slapped his hands over his eyes as they scrambled to grab the blanket, covering themselves from Lucas.

"Oh my god! I'm gonna stab out my eyes!" He yelled, causing Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Julian and Alex to run into the room "How do you un-see something?"  
"What happened?" Brooke screamed as she ran to Lucas. The group stopped at the doorway, seeing Nathan and Haley, both equally as red faced as the other, the blanket covering their naked forms. Haley buried her head into Nathan's chest as he wrapped an arm around her.

They all burst into laughter as it clicked as to what Lucas was whining about.  
"Quit it! This is not funny!" He groaned.  
Brooke took a step closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It kinda is Broody" She chuckled.  
"How is me walking in on my best friend and cousin about to have sex funny to you?" He asked sarcastically

"OK! Can we please stop talking about that?" Haley asked as her friends all stopped laughing.

Just as Jake opened his mouth to speak, Ryan started to cry, the commotion having woken him up.

"Good going Luke. All your moaning and groaning woke him up early" Haley sighed as Peyton picked the baby up and gave him to Nathan and Haley.  
"I think you mean _your _moaning" Peyton smirked.  
"Funny Blondie" Nathan deadpanned.

"What was it you guys wanted before you interrupted us?" Nathan bit out, irritated at the interruption of his cousin.  
"Man you really are worked up" Jake joked as Nathan glared at him.  
"we came to tell you breakfast was ready, so if you two lovebirds would put some clothes on and come down, we're waiting on you. I'm starving!" Julian answered.  
"You're always hungry JujuBee" Haley retorted as the group exited the room, Brooke taking Ryan from Haley and downstairs with her.

Nathan sighed and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek "There goes our morning fun" He pouted.  
Haley chuckled and kissed him quickly "Sorry baby. I promise, I'm all yours tonight"  
"You forgot we got the kid" He retorted as she kinked her eyebrow at him  
"And you forget I'm Tutorgirl. Don't you worry, I'll figure it out" She winked at him as she reached down to the floor and pulled his shirt over her head and put on her panties and tights, throwing Nathan his boxers as she walked into their adjoining bathroom.

…..

they group decided to head down to the beach for the day. Nathan and Haley walked hand in hand down to the beach, Nathan holding Ryan in the baby carrier attached to his chest.

The group find a reasonably secluded spot on the beach and set up their picnic rug with an umbrella over the top. They set up a volleyball net further down for later.

Brooke and Lucas had gone for a walk along the beach while Peyton and Jake went to grab lunch from the shop for everyone. Nathan and Haley were both lying on the mat with Ryan in a little play pen next to them so he wouldn't go near the water. Haley lay on her right side, her head resting on Nathan's chest, her left leg over Nathan's while Nathan had his left arm under Haley's head, his hand running up and down her arm slowly. They lay there, simply enjoying the silence.

Haley snuggled further into his chest and sighed  
"This is nice" she whispered  
"mmmh" Nathan responded. Haley Chuckled

"Are you enjoying yourself"  
"mmmh" Haley sat up slightly  
"Mr. Scott, are you incoherent?" she teased "Maybe I should go find someone else to talk to then"  
"don't you dare" he growled "I'm just…comfy with you" he smiled pulling her back down.

Haley laughed as she settled back into Nathan's side.

They lay there together talking about everything, School, Duke, their families, Ryan, Graduation.  
"I'm so excited. Can you believe that in three months we graduate?" Haley said in awe  
Nathan chuckled "Babe, we finished school a week ago. Only the ceremony's left so technically we've already finished"  
"Yeah, but graduation still signifies us actually having finished. Plus I've been working like crazy on my valedictorian speech" She smiled

"I've noticed, you always get up once you think I've fallen asleep and keep working on it. You know I don't mind you keeping a lamp on" He smirked as she blushed, knowing she'd been caught out.  
"sorry, I didn't want to keep you up. I'm just nervous, I really want this to be perfect. I've been wanting this my whole life you know? I just don't want to disappoint" She expressed.  
"Babe it'll be perfect, plus you can always show it to me, or Brooke or anyone in the group and we can help you." He replied  
"I know, thank you" Haley smiled as she kissed him.

Their kiss escalated, and they were soon making out. Nathan's hand slid up Haley's back, until his fingertips were brushing the straps tied together there. He slowly slid his fingers under the straps, when he heard it.

Ryan let out an ear piercing cry, effectively breaking the two apart. Nathan groaned as he lay flat on his back, while Haley got up to bring Ryan over to them. His crying ceased the minute he was in his mother's arms.

"I swear that kid can tell when we're getting together" Nathan groaned  
Haley chuckled at his words "Oh yeah, he's got a radar for that kind of stuff" she said sarcastically as she sat down next to him, sitting Ryan up on her stomach. He squealed as he saw his daddy and instantly reached out to Nathan, who moved the month old child onto his lap. He smiled as Ryan sat up, with some help from Nathan who bent his legs so that Ryan could rest against them.

"It's crazy to think he's only been with us a month" Nathan said  
"I know, I feel like it was only yesterday we first met him. Pretty soon he's going to grow up and be looking after kids of his own. Protecting his little brothers and sisters" Haley said getting lost in her thoughts.

"I'd like to have more kids someday"  
"A son with your eyes" Haley replied determinedly

"No. A little girl, just like you. Although me and her brother here are going to have a difficult time keeping her away from all the boys" He said.

Haley smiled as she sat up and engaged with her son and boyfriend, watching Nathan lift Ryan into the air and back down onto his lap, eliciting the loveliest little giggles she'd ever heard. She sat and watched as Nathan interacted with her son.  
_This is perfect_ She thought as she looked around at her boyfriend, her son, her friends.  
And she was right, it was a perfect life.

….

"Ah bed! I've missed you" Haley exclaimed as she flopped down onto the mattress.

The group had been at the beach for hours. They swam, played volleyball and walked around collecting seashells. After they had walked up to the wharf and had dinner, then went to an ice cream store and had dessert. It was only 10:30 but they were all exhausted.

Nathan entered the room five minutes later and chuckled when he saw Haley sprawled out on their bed. He quietly crept over and flopped down next to her, causing her to jump at the sudden movement. When she saw who he was shit hit his chest  
"Don't ever do that again! I swear you gave me a coronary!" She exclaimed as Nathan laughed.

"I'm sorry baby you just looked so comfy. I need you awake" He spoke as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. They broke apart after a few minutes and Haley looked at her surroundings. The crib was gone, and so was Ryan.  
"Nathan…" She started "Where's our kid"  
"Well I may or may not have kept him with Lucas and Brooke for the night" He replied.

"Nathan! What if he wakes in the middle of the night or something?" She questioned, she didn't want to burden her friends with having to look after their child.

Nathan wrapped his arms around her shoulders again "Hales relax. Technically Brooke offered. I left the bottle you expressed this morning in the fridge so if he get hungry they can feed him, he had a long day and was tired so chances are he'll sleep straight through the night. Plus I told Brooke to come get us if he wouldn't settle" He spoke as she relaxed in his arms.

Haley smiled "Ok then, thank you. I love Ryan but a night alone is nice"  
"Well then, we better make the most of it" He smirked as he leaned in and kissed her again,

Taking advantage of their night alone.

**A/N: OK! That's the next chapter, as I said this was a request from a reviewer and I hope you liked it! Next chapter will be Christmas and then graduation, then we'll be wrapping up this story ****  
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!**

**Maddie :)**


	24. Graduation

**A/N: Hello Lovely Readers! I'm so sorry I've been MIA these past three weeks. School has been really busy and I've had copious amounts of essays, assignments, tests and aural assessment tasks to do. BUT it has finally settled down and I don't have as much on my plate so i bring you the 24th chapter (Can you believe it!?) of For better or Worse! I will definitely post next Friday as it's my 17th Birthday so a new chapter as a gift :)**

**NOTE: in the A/N in last chapter I said there would be a Christmas then graduation chapter, but I decided to skip to Graduation, with flashbacks of Christmas in there instead.  
Also, I've borrowed a bit of Haley's valedictorian speech from 4x21/22.**

**Enjoy!**

**24\. Graduation**

Haley stood in front of her mirror, running her hands over her hips and down her thighs smoothing out the creases in her dress. She smiled at the way the dark purple material hugged her body and complimented her curvy hips. Nathan had bought it for her for Christmas for this exact occasion.

It had been three months since school ended.  
Summer holidays had flown by and now here they were.  
Graduation.

Haley reached for her cap and gown and walked out of her room and into the living room where her friends and son were. She smiled as she watched Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Julian and Alex sitting in a circle with a four month old Ryan in the middle, oohing and aaahing and clapping as he slowly continued to roll over. She smiled remembering the first time he had done that.

...

_Haley and Nathan sat on the floor, their backs leaning against the couch as Haley leaned into Nathan's side. They had just finished Christmas dinner with their friends and Family. As tradition, the James, Scott, Baker and Davis families all gathered together in one of their houses to celebrate Christmas together.  
Haley smiled as she stared at the beautifully lit Christmas tree, the snow falling gently in the background making it a perfect sight._

_Haley smiled as Nathan kissed her forehead before breaking their comfortable silence.  
"You know...if life is always like this, i can die a happy man" he commented smiling down at her  
"It will be. One thing I know is that no matter what, I'll have you and our family" she kissed him  
Nathan wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, squeezing her hip with one hand as he cupped her cheek with the other._

_They were broken apart by Victoria Davis' shrieks  
"Nathan! Haley! get over here! Oh my God, Ryan!"  
The two teens shot up and ran through the house to the back door, instantly fearing something had happened to their two month old son.  
They ran through the group of people surrounding Lydia and Ryan and Haley instantly looked for her son  
"What happened!?" She yelled as panic set in  
Lydia smiled and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder "Relax, he's fine"_

_Haley relaxed and look to Nathan, who had the biggest grin on his face. She looked at him questioningly as her pointed down towards the ground, and that's when she saw him.  
Ryan was lying on his blue basketball themed rug (a Christmas gift form his aunt Quinn and Uncle Clay), his tongue was slightly poking out from his lips, and his back was arched. He wore a slightly frustrated look as he tried to turn successfully from his front to his back.  
"Oh my god. is he-?" Haley asked as Nathan nodded  
"He's trying to roll over" Jimmy smiled as he put his arm around Haley and placed a hand on Nathan's back._

_Five minutes of coaxing and encouragement - and one extremely frustrated Ryan - later, he did it.  
Haley reached down and picked up her baby boy, smothering his face with kisses and whispering "You did so good baby boy. Mama's so proud"  
She laid him back down as his grandmothers rushed over to entertain him, and try and get him to roll again. Nathan wrapped his arms around her as Haley sniffled, a few tears falling from her eyes, as she buried her head in his chest._

_"Hey" he whispered, slightly concerned "what's wrong?"  
She sniffed once more before answering "it's just...he's getting so big" she smiled.  
Nathan chuckled as he kissed her forehead "I know babe. He's growing up, there's not much we can do"  
"I know. I just wish he'd stay my little baby boy forever" she laughed as she wiped her nose and eyes, looking at the slight wet patch she'd left on nathan's dark navy polo shirt from her tears.  
"Sorry" she whispered as she rubbed the stain  
"It's ok. Feel better now?" he asked  
"Much" she smiled as he took her hand and sat down next to their son._

_..._

"Hey" she spoke as she walked into the room, placing her cap and gown on the hook beside the door.  
"Tutor Mum you look gorgeous" Brooke spoke as she winked at her best friend  
Haley giggled as she made her way around saying hi to her friends "Thanks Brookie, you look pretty amazing too. You too Peyt"  
Brooke smiled as she sat down next to Peyton. Both girls were wearing halter neck, knee length dresses. Brooke's was a red form fitting one with a slightly low cut neckline, while Peyton wore a black flowy dress with a sweetheart neckline. Alex was wearing a pink strapless floor length dress with a black waist band, and the boys all wore black suits with white shirts and navy ties. Clearly their mothers had all been shopping for them together.

Haley frowned as she noticed one person missing.  
"Where's Nathan?" She asked as she peeked into the kitchen in search of her boyfriend.  
"He said he had to run out, something about leaving his shirt at Jimmy and Lydia's last night when he picked up his suit. He should be back soon" Lucas smirked as the group all looked at each other conspiratorially, before Haley walked back into the room and picked up her son.

"Oh. He didn't mention anything about it last night" she responded slightly confused.  
"I think he only realised this morning when he was showing us his suit" Peyton supplied.  
Haley shrugged as she bounced Ryan gently in her arms "huh, i guess so" she replied "I hope he doesn't take too long. We have to head out to Karen's for lunch in an hour before going to the school"

Across town, Nathan stood nervously outside the house of Lydia and Jimmy James. He needed to speak with them and his parents, who were staying there for the week that the parents were visiting for graduation, before heading back out to Europe.  
He took a deep breath before knocking on the door, and waited all of five seconds before Lydia James' bright face filled his vision.  
"Nathan! how are you sweetheart?" She asked as the other three adults walked to the doorway  
"I'm good Lydia, Can I come in?" He asked nervously.

Lydia looked at her husband and friends concerned. She's never seen Nathan this anxious before in her life.  
She opened the door wider before speaking"Of course honey, you never need to ask you know that"  
Nathan smiled as he walked towards the living room and sat in the single chair across from the couches, the adults following his lead and sitting opposite.

Nathan sighed as he placed his hands firmly in his lap to stop him from fidgeting.  
"I need to ask you all something"

...

Haley sighed as she unbuckled Ryan from the car. She had received a text from Nathan ten minutes ago saying something came up with his parents and that he would meet her at the cafe. She knew something was going on with Nathan, but she couldn't figure it out. Every time she asked him he would just tell her everything was fine. The best she's gotten out of him was two days ago when he said he was nervous about going to Duke. Even though he had been telling the truth, she knew that wasn't the full story.  
she gently lifted the now sleeping baby and placed his head against her chest, right over her heart. she smiled as he snuggled further into his mother's warm embrace.

Haley walked into Karen's cafe and towards the long table in the center of the store. Karen had shut down for the day to allow the four families, as well as Alex (whose parents had not come for her graduation) to enjoy their time together without the hussle and bussle of customers.  
Haley smiled as her friends and family greeted her, and sat down next to her boyfriend, who looked absolutely amazing in his suit, foregoing the white shirt and wearing all black. _My man really is sexy _she thought as he leaned in to kiss her. She sighed as she felt her body relax.

Maybe this was all in her head. Maybe nothing was wrong with Nathan. _I'm being ridiculous, everything's fine. I've just missed him, that's what's got me all worked up. _she mentally explained to herself as she leaned into his embrace, his arm resting against the back of her chair.  
"Hey beautiful" he whispered in her ear.

Haley felt herself blush as she stroked her hand against her cheek, feeling him lean into her touch.  
"Hey yourself, everything OK?" She asked, her eye conveying her concern of the past few weeks.  
Nathan smiled as he kissed the inside of her wrist "Everything's perfect" she spoke and noticed as she visibly relaxed.  
_Have she been this worried about me the whole time?_ Nathan felt bad he had been stressing her, he had been so nervous about asking his and Haley's parents about his idea that he didn't know how to act around her. he kissed her cheek and gently took Ryan out of her arms, placing him in the bassinet he had left in his car.  
"eat up, you're gonna need your strength miss valedictorian" he smirked  
Haley smiled widely, her entire face lighting up "I like the sound of that" she replied as Karen brought out their lunch.

...

Haley stood up, clutching her papers in her hand as he walked to the podium. She had just graduated.  
She gently placed her speech in front of her and took a deep breath. She looked up and her eyes instantly locked with Nathan's. he was sitting in the fourth row from the front, next to his Lucas. He smiled and winked, mouthing _I Love you_ and she instantly felt her nerves settle. She looked down at her notes and began to speak

"Good evening Staff, Families, Friends, and the graduating class of 2007" Haley started.  
"My best friend, Lucas, reminded me of a quote in a book I had bought him for his 13th birthday by William Shakespeare, which seems appropriate.  
There is a tide in the affairs of me, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea we are now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."  
Haley looked at Lucas and smiled

"I think that what that quote means is that life is short, and opportunities are rare and we have to be vigilant in protecting them...and not only the opportunities to succeed, but...the opportunities to laugh, to see the enchantment in the world, and...to live. Because life doesn't owe us anything. As a matter of fact, i think, that we owe something to the world. and we all just need to believe that everything will be okay, and know that even when we are lost, there will _always_ be someone there to show us the light."  
She smiled as Brooke and Peyton both sent her a 'blow-kiss' with their hands from their seats at the front. She let out a soft chuckle before continuing.

"Be strong, and don't let anything stop you from achieving what you want out of life. Now is the time for us to shine, the time when our dreams are within reach and possibilities vast. Now is the time for all of us to become the people we've always dreamed of being. This is your world. You're here.

Thank you" she smiled as all 500 students stood up and clapped. She took a small bow and sat back down in her seat as Principal Turner walked up to the Podium.  
"I think I can agree with everyone when I say that our valedictorian has done an outstanding job today" she spoke as he turned and smiled at Haley.  
"Thank you Miss James. And now, If you'll all join me in congratulating the graduating class of 2007. Congratulations, and good luck" He smiled as everyone in the Auditorium stood, clapping and cheering as the students all threw their caps in the air.

...

Haley met up with her friends and families outside the hall. They immediately ran up to her and squished her into a group hug.  
"You did so good Haley Bob!" Lydia commented as tears fell from her eyes  
"You guys really are all grown up" Dan said as the other 7 parents nodded in agreement  
"That was a wonderful speech Haley" Sylvia Baker said  
"You should be very proud sweetheart "Victoria added on  
"Thanks you guys" Haley spoke as her friends all hugged her once more

"I can't believe high school's over!" Brooke cried as everyone chuckled  
"It's not too bad B, we've still have college. and at least we'll all be together" Julian spoke  
"That's true" Peyton agreed. Haley looked over her shoulders and saw Nathan waiting behind the group, she excused herself before running into his waiting arms.

"You did awesome Hales, I'm so proud of you!" Nathan exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her around.  
Haley giggled as she leaned in and kissed him "I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you"  
"always: he told her  
"and forever" she replied kissing him once more.  
He smiled as he placed her back on the ground and walked over to their families.

**A/N: OK! so, the gang is officially out of high school! Next chapter we'll see what Nathan went to ask his and Haley's parents, and after will all be time jumps between college and after, and then there'll be an epilogue and done!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please LEAVE A REVIEW and let me know what you thought, and what you'd like to see in the time jumps.**


	25. I can't wait any longer!

For better or for worse ch 25

**A/N: hey lovely readers! As promised I've u downed a new chapter for my 17th birthday, with five minutes to spare (till mind night)! I'm quite happy with it and I hope you all are too :)**

**Enjoy!**

**25\. I can't wait any longer!**

Four weeks. Almost exactly a month, to the date, since they've graduated. Almost a month since Nathan's been sitting on this secret. Everyone knew, his friends his family, even his son. However, his girlfriend, was the only one who didn't.

Unfortunately on the night Nathan and planned to reveal his surprise, brooke had Called. Ryan was sick and had been throwing up. Unfortunately, he had a viral infection, which meant they had to just let it pass. They had given him some medicine but since he was only five months old, they couldn't give him a strong enough dose to help ease the infection faster.

Nathan walked into the nursery, seeing Haley gently put down Ryan and take her seat once more in the rocking chair. This had become their routine for the past month. They would sleep, eat, and look after a sick Ryan. The baby had been fussy and extremely needy during his period of illness, which had put a damper on Nathan and Haley's very limited alone time.

Nathan was over it. He walked into the nursery, hands behind his back and cam to kneel in front of his girlfriend, who currently had a very glazed over look in her eyes.

"Everything alright babe?" He asked, snapping her from her thoughts. She smiled as her hand caressed his cheek, brushing over the slight stubble that had formed in the past week.

"Just tired" she replied.

Nathan smiled "well, I have something for you" he began

Haley's body perked up at Nathan's words

"Now, before I start I want to say I'm sorry. This isn't how I planned this, I wanted to do this last month on our date but then Ryan got sick and timing hasn't been right. And then it hit me. For us the timings never really been right. We've always had to just dive in and see what happens. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that this whole unplanned thing works out well in the pattern of our relationship" he smirked as he fixed his position so he was holding her hand and kneeling one one knee.

"Haley James, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We don't have to do this soon, we can wait as long as you like but I can't wait any longer to ask you. Will you marry me?" He said as he took out the jewellery box from behind his back, revealing the simple white gold band with a princess cut diamond in the middle. Simple and elegant, just like her

"Yes! Yes, of course!" She whisper yelled, mindful of their sleeping son "and that was as perfect a proposal as any" she said as he slipped the ring onto her finger, before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.

...

The couple now lay in their bed,not he thin red sheet all that was covering their naked entwined bodies. Haley lay with her leg over Nathan's, snuggled into his left side with her head resting on his chest, while Nathan's hand ran up and down her back.

"You know, I never asked you how you felt about all this" he mentioned breaking their comfortable silence.

"About all what?" She asked

"The sex. I mean, I know you said you were ready for its and I know we've been doing it, but you'd tell me if anything was wrong, yeah? Like if you were uncomfortable, or not...you know...satisfied, or anything" he said, feeling his nerves creep in.

Haley sat up slightly and cupped his cheek

"Yeah, I would tell you if something were wrong. but it's not. Everything that you do, being with you..it's the most amazing feeling" she spoke honestly issuing his cheek.

Nathan smiled "good, I'm glad. I just wanted to make sure"

"Well, in all honesty I have been writing a fair bit about us on my support blog. I hope you don't mind" she blushed

Nathan looked down at her before shaking his head "I don't mind one bit, I think they help you, and I like that you have a whole support system of people that understand parts of what you went through" he told her

"I think they help me" she replied "I like being able to talk to them, sharing my experiences in a safe and understanding environment" she smiled remembering some of the things that were commented when she told the readers that she had lost her virginity to Nathan. They had been so supportive of her and congratulated her on being able to progress with her life, it made her feel a lot happier than she already had been.

Nathan sighed as he continued to trail his fingers up Haley's back

"We need to get ready" he groaned

Haley looked at him confused. "Why?" She asked

"Because I told our parents and friends I was finally going to ask you tonight before Lydia, James, mum and dad all left to Europe next week. Lydia told me to bring you and Ry to dinner at 7 sharp, which means we've got 45 minutes to be ready"

Haley looked up at him, slightly shocked "everyone knew you were going to propose?" She asked him.

Nathan chuckled "well i had to ask our parents for permission, and I needed our friends help to set up our date for me to propose" he explained.

Haley looked at him in awe, admiring how much effort he had gone thing to make this special for her. She leaned in and kissed him passionately.

"Thank you" she whispered as they pulled away "I love that you put so much effort into this for me"

"Always. I love you Haley"

"I love you too Nathan"

**A/N: ok! So I know it's short, but this is how I always imagined their proposal to pay out. I was going to put in a chapter before hand about him trying to propose all these different ways kind of like Mike and phoebe in friends but I wanted to keep this short and sweet. Next chapter will be the dinner celebrating with the friends and family, I'll have it up within a couple days. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see coming up and...**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**\- maddie :)**


	26. Telling The Family,And One More Surprise

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Sorry I didn't update sooner, I'm coming down with a cold so I've been kind of out of it, plus I've had assessments and tests. Year 11 is kicking my butt :P  
However, today was my last test (woohoo!) for the term, and therefore I can post more regularly since I've only got one more week of school before my two weeks holidays!**

A Few Announcements:

1\. This story will be finishing within the next three weeks :(

**2\. I've started a new Brucas story for Dianehermans and if you're a fan of them then please check it out!**

**3\. I'm writing TWO NEW NALEY STORIES! Thibbs65 asked for a Naley in College story, which I will be basing off of the movie "The Prince and Me" and I'm writing another story based off of the movie "A Cinderella Story"**

**I will be uploading the new stories in a few days, a week maximum, i hope you all check them out!**

**Anyways, on with the show! (or story in this case haha)!  
Enjoy!**

**26\. Telling the Family, and One More Surprise**

Nathan and Haley sat side by side, surrounded by their friends and loved ones. Tonight was Karen, Keith, Lydia, Jimmy, Deb and Dan's last night in Tree Hill. Jimmy, Lydia, Deb and Dan were heading back out to Europe, stopping through to check on the other James' kids yet again, and Keith and Karen were heading out to open the newest franchise store of 'Karen's Cafe' in San Francisco, which would involve them staying there for a few months to set everything up.

Nathan gently held Haley's hand in his under the table, the engagement ring on her left hand poking slightly into his skin. He smiled at the feeling of his mother's ring on his fiancee's finger. He was pretty sure that was his new favourite word.  
Fiancee.

Haley looked over at Nathan, silently questioning whether or not now was the right time. Surprisingly, no one had noticed the ring on Haley's finger yet, which she found odd since everyone knew Nathan had been planning to propose. She shrugged it off however, thinking that they all assumed he was waiting since he hadn't been able to propose to her like he had originally planned.

Nathan nodded at Haley's silent question, before clearing his throat and standing up, bringing Haley with him. They waited for a few moments as the entire Baker-Davis-Scott-James family combo quieted down.  
"We have an announcement to make" Nathan smiled, looking over at his mother who was holding his son, as she winked at him. She had noticed her ring on Haley's hand but had kept quiet, wanting to give the couple the opportunity to tell their families when they were ready.

"Well?" Lydia enquired "Spit it out, we're not getting any younger" she joked.  
Haley smiled as she held up her left hand, proudly displaying her engagement ring "Nathan proposed" she beamed.  
Everyone was silent for a moment, before Jimmy stood up and started to collect the plates "That's nice sweetheart" he started "Now, who'd like dessert"

Nathan smirked at Haley's look of shock. How had her family been so...ok with it? She didn't think they'd be upset, but considering her and Nathan's mum's had been betting on the day they'd get married since they were born, she figured they'd be excited, happy, something!

"Wait" she said, halting Jimmy in his steps "That's it!? You guys have been waiting for this moment since the minute we shot out of our mothers, and all we get it _that's nice sweetheart_!?" She stated, her voice clearly emphasising her shock.  
Jimmy rubbed his lips together, looking around the table. Seeing the smirks of everyone, he let go, bursting out laughing, as the rest of the dinner party joined him.

Haley looked around, now even more confused "What the hell!?" She asked, sending a pointed look at her father.  
"Relax Haley Bob, we're only teasing" Lydia smiled as she bounced out of her chair, and engulfed the couple in a hug "I'm so happy for you sweetheart!" She squealed  
Haley let out a chuckled as she wrapped her arms around her mother "This is more like it, thank you!" she joked smirking at her father who simply chuckled and continued to clear the plates.

"Well son" Dan started as he walked over to hug the young couple as well "I was wondering if you'd propose before we left" he laughed as he hugged his son  
"Well, I was going to wait until the moment was perfect, but...I got kinda impatient" he confessed, blushing a little bit.  
Dan chuckled "I understand, believe me. When I proposed to your mum, I had it all planned out three weeks in advance. The amount of times I almost gave in and asked her" He chuckled "I swear, every time I saw her all I wanted to do was get down on my knee and tell her how much I loved her and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her" He smiled as he kissed his wife's cheek.

"Wait a second" haley interrupted "You all knew?"  
"DUH! who do you think helped him plan his wonderful proposal to you?" Brooke answered.  
"I'm just surprised you didn't blab Davis. You got a big ass mouth at the worst of times" Peyton retorted.  
Brooke glared at her friend "Don't tease Blondie. You forget, I know all your secrets" she poked her tongue out at the blonde girl.

"Besides" Jimmy spoke entering the room again "He had to ask us for our permission" He finished as the other three adults nodded.  
"You asked both our parents?" She questioned looking up at Nathan  
"Yeah" he replied "I figured, since we were only 17, that they'd want to know. Plus, they're family. I wanted to make sure they were ok with it"

"When did all this happen?" She asked  
"Graduation Day" he smirked, seeing the lightbulb go off in her head  
"I knew you didn't leave your shirt there!" She yelled out as the puzzle pieces fell into place in her mind.

...

_"I'd like to marry Haley" He blurted out._

_the room filled with silence for a second, all the adults processing what Nathan had just said  
"As in, now?" Deb asked  
"well...not right this second" Nathan joked "I want to ask her to be my wife. It doesn't mea we'd be getting married in a few months. I'll wait as long as she wants to before we get married. But, I can't wait another second without being able to ask her to be mine for the rest of our lives. To have a family with me." he spoke honestly_

_"I know we're young" he continued "But that's why I asked all of you. I know it's traditional to only ask the father, but I respect all of you, and I figured you deserved to know"  
Jimmy stood up and walked over to the boy. He chuckled at Nathan's nervous state. He hadn't seen him like this since he caught him with a PlayBoy magazine when he was 13._

He bent down and put his hands on the young man's shoulder "You take care of my little girl. Anything happens to her, although I doubt it will, I'm coming after you" he smiled  
Nathan looked up, surprise filling his eyes "Seriously?" He smiled  
"Yeah. I agree, you are young. But, you two have been through more than what most adult couples go through in their entire relationship. Just...don't make me a grandfather anytime soon. again" He chuckled.

_Nathan stood up and hugged Jimmy "Thank you" he said into the man's shoulder  
Jimmy patted him on the back "Of course kid"_

_..._

"Wow" Haley whispered "You really did think this all out"  
"of course" he said cupping Haley's cheek "I love you Haley. And I meant it when I said I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and build a bigger family with you"  
She leaned up and kissed him, quickly but passionately "I love you too"

Nathan smiled as he spoke again "I have one more question for you"  
Haley smirked "Well, considering we're already getting married, I highly doubt anything you say can trump that" she joked.  
Nathan chuckled as he took her hand in his once more "What do you think about me adopting Ryan?"  
Haley looked at him shocked, for the second time that night.  
"I was wrong. You definitely could trump that" she whispered "Are you sure?"  
"Of course!" he told her "Haley, he's my son. I don't care what science, biology says. He's MY son, he always has been. And I want the whole world to know it. So, what do you say?"

"I say you're right. You are his father, and he's your son" She smiled  
"So...?" He questioned  
Haley giggled, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She nodded her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck "Yes" she whispered before kissing him once more.

**A/N: OK! The end of another chapter. Let me know what you think, I figured it was time Nathan adopted Ryan. What'd you think of the family's reaction? Next up will be a bit of a time jump, either to the wedding or to Ryan's official adoption. Not sure just yet, I'll try and update ASAP, depends on how long this cold chooses to stay for!**

**Please leave me a review, they make my day!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	27. It's Official

**A/N: Hey! I love that the reviews and PM's you all are sending me, thank you for the love!  
I've posted a new Naley story so please feel free to check it out! I will be starting another Naley story in a few days, maybe even tonight if I'm feeling inspired :)**

**Enjoy!**

**27\. It's Official**

Nathan smiled as he signed the papers in the Tree Hill District Courthouse. It was official  
He was legally the father of Ryan Lucas Scott.

Nathan couldn't help but feel pride swell in his heart as he said that word.  
His son.  
He already considered Ryan his, but having it there - on paper, a legal documentation that said no one could break them apart. It gave him a greater sense of comfort.  
"Well, Dad" Haley smiled up at her Fiancee "You ready to get to college?" she asked

"Not just yet Hales. We've gotta go to Karen's for dinner. Like I'm going to leave for college without Karen's food one alst time"

Haley rolled her eyes at his response "I swear, food's all you think about"  
"That's not true. I think about food, basketball, Ryan. You" He said, a hint of lust laced in his voice as he kissed her.  
"Ease there" she smirked as he tried to escalate their kiss "Come on. Dinner first, then dessert" she winked as she pushed Ryan's stroller out of the courthouse.  
Nathan groaned as he ran to catch up with her "You'll be the death of me Haley James" He said wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her forehead.  
_

_clink clink clink! _ the sound of Karen's fork tapping her glass rang through out the cafe. Yet again, Karen had closed early so that the Scott-James-Davis-Baker families, along with Alex, could have one last get together before the kids all left tomorrow for Duke University.

"Excuse the interruption, but I have a little toast to make before dessert" Karen smiled as everyone looked towards as she stood up  
"Well, on behalf of all us oldies-" Karen started  
"speak for yourself" Victoria butted in, laughing as Brooke rolled her eyes at her mother  
"Anyways" Karen continued "like I was saying, on behalf of all of us, I want you kids to know how proud of you we all are. You've come so far, and you've each overcome some tough things in life, and you've always done it bravely and with such strength. I know you'll all do wonderfully at college" she said as everyone raised their glasses and toasted in agreement.

...

The gang were all sitting on the wooden steps of the pier, the girls sitting next to one another in front of their boyfriends, comfortably placed between each guys legs, the boys arms wrapped around their girlfriends. Karen and Keith had offered to take Ryan home with them, considering they lived closest to Haley and Nathan.

"I can't believe this is our last night in Tree Hill. It seems weird to be leaving the place we've called home for the last 18 years" Brooke spoke.  
Haley smiled as she grasped Brooke's hand in her own "Don't worry Brookie, college will be awesome. And we'll be back in the school break to visit. It's not like we'll be gone forever"

Lucas looked out to the water "Do you guys remember the amount of time we spent out here? Every summer holiday was spent at the beach house"  
Nathan smiled "I remember a couple years back, we all drank a little too much at Tim's party and ended up going for a swim in the ocean. We damaged out phones, lost our credit cards. It was crazy" everyone laughed at the memory before falling into a comfortable silence.

A few moments later Haley looked at Peyton, who seemed to be having the same thoughts as her. They both stood up and walked closer to the ocean, depositing their phones, wallets, shoes and jumpers on the sand before cheering and running into the water.  
"What are they doing?" Jake yelled out "it's freezing this time of year!"  
Brooke and Alex chuckled before running to the water as well, Brooke yelling behind her "Live a little boys! For old times sake!" before joining Haley and Peyton in the water.

The guys all looked at each other, then to the girls splashing one another and laughing, before stripping off their shoes and shirts and joining them in the water.

Nathan crept up behind Haley, wrapping his arms around her waist. She smiled, thinking he was making a move, before suddenly feeling her body being catapulted in the air. She landed back in the water with a massive splash.

She spluttered to the surface, seeing Nathan's cheeky grin spread across his face. He covered his mouth, trying to contain the bellowing laugh he felt bubbling to the surface at Haley's deathly glare.  
"Nathan Royal Scott!" She yelled as her friends chuckled. She swam towards him, so that she was standing directly in front of him. Looking up at him, hands firmly placed on her hips, she raised an eyebrow waiting for him to speak.

"I'm sorry baby, I just couldn't resist" He said wrapping his arms around her.  
Haley leaned up to kiss him, watching as he closed his eyes leaning in. He could feel the breath from her mouth on his lips before his whole body fell under the water.

Haley giggled as he resurfaced, a surprised look on his face.  
"Sorry baby" she giggled "I just couldn't resist" she laughed as he wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her.  
Brooke chuckled as Lucas came and wrapped his arms around her. The eight friends all stood together in the ocean, staring back at the docks, towards Karen's, vaguely seeing the outskirts of Tree Hill.

This was where it had all happened. growing up together, starting school, graduating, become parents, godparents, aunts, uncles. They had been through a lot in little old Tree Hill. It was where they came from, and it was where they belonged.

Home.

...

Nathan sighed as he placed the last box into the moving truck. It was official. They were off to college.  
He secured the truck onto the back of the car, as Lucas, Brooke, Jake, Peyton, Julian and Alex parked in the driveway.  
"Where's Haley?" Peyton asked as she jumped out of Jake's truck

"She's just double checking we didn't leave anything inside" Nathan said as he picked Ryan up off of the rug he was laying on in the front yard.  
"Hales! Get your ass out here already!" Brooke screamed  
"Sorry! I'm here" Haley ran through the front door and greeted her friends.

They all stood together, looking at the house. One of the four they had grown up in.  
"It's not gonna be the same" Alex spoke "Duke. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll enjoy it. But Tree Hill is home" she smiled as everyone nodded in agreement  
"Well, unfortunately we gotta say goodbye and head out on the road, otherwise we'll miss orientation"  
"Remind me why we though road tripping it in four different cars was a good idea?" Haley asked as they all made their way to their cars  
"Because Brooke has too many clothes to fit" Lucas yelled out  
"And Peyton's got too many art supplies and records" Jake threw in  
"HEY!" Both girls yelled as they punch their laughing boyfriends.

"We'll see you at the hotel in about 6 hours" Nathan yelled as everyone nodded  
They all started to drive away, leaving Nathan, Haley and Ryan in the car outside the house.  
"You ready?" Nathan asked holding her hand  
Haley looked away from the window and smiled "Yeah. Let's go begin the next four years of our lives!"  
Nathan chuckled at her excitement, kissing her cheek before driving away from their house, and Tree Hill.

**A/N: OK! so the ending sentence was a bit sad, but I feel it had to have a slightly sad ending. It's just how it came out of my head. I hope you enjoyed how they sad goodbye to Tree Hill and their families.**

**Please Leave a review and tell me what you think! Next few chapters will be college life, and preparing for the wedding.**

**\- Maddie :)**


	28. I Didn't Think It'd Be This Hard

**A/N: Hey Lovely Readers! I've been a bit behind on updates lately I'm so sorry! I've been really sick so I haven't had much time to write. It is currently my school holidays so this story will be my main focus, as well as starting the new Naley in College story requested by Thibbs65 that I'm going to be writing, it will be up tomorrow night :)**

**PS: this chapter has a slight M rated section at the end, which was requested to me in a PM. It's kind of rushed as I wanted to get this chapter up ASAP.**

**Enjoy!**

**28\. I didn't think it'd be this hard**

*NOVEMBER 20th, 2007*

Haley sighed as she shut the door to her and Nathan's apartment, gently placing her son in his play crib in the living room. They had been at Duke for two months now. Ryan was now eight months old. She was keeping up with her studies, and Nathan was doing fantastic playing for the Duke Blue Devils with Lucas and Jake. There was just one problem.

She hadn't seen her fiancee in a week and a half.

It seemed crazy right? How do you live with a man, and not see him? Her and Nathan had been on completely opposite schedules the past two weeks. When she was out at class, Nathan was looking after Ryan. When she was looking after Ryan, Nathan had been at Basketball practice.

They had barely seen each other, except for at games on Friday when Haley watched Nathan play, but the team had always dragged him out to celebrate and she would go home with Ryan. They had barely kissed one another, let alone anything else. And it left for a very frustrated Nathan and Haley.

On top of that, they had barely gotten the chance to plan anything for their wedding, which they had finally set a date for. After rescheduling many times due to games and exams, they were finally getting married. In seven months.

June 12th.

They were getting married in seven months and they had barely planned. Haley was freaking out. Thank god for her Mum and Deb. Even though they were in Europe, they had been helping out. They sent out wedding invitations, spoke to the caterers, and even made a seating chart. Haley and Nathan now only had to organise the finer details.

Haley slumped onto the couch, she didn't have any energy tonight to do anything. Brooke and Peyton had gone to a party, and Lucas, Jake and Nathan were at an away game.  
Haley looked at her watch, _7:15._

The game would be starting soon. Haley turned on the TV to the college sports channel and walked to the kitchen. They had set up the living room so that you could see the TV while standing at the island bench. Haley warmed up the leftovers from last night's Chinese takeout and looked at the screen. She smiled seeing Nathan's face as he talked to the interviewer.

_"So, how does it feel to be able to play your first year at Duke? Some players never get the opportunity to play their entire college career" _The interviewer asked.  
_"It's such an honour to play for Duke, and especially to be able to play with my brother Lucas and our best friend Jake, as well as all the other amazing players we have on our team" _Nathan smiled in response.  
_"So tell us, you're one of our cheerleaders favourite players. You got a special someone or do they have a chance?" _The interviewer smirked

Haley sucked in a breath. Why did she feel nervous? _I'm being ridiculous_ she though rolling her eyes.  
Nathan chuckled as he fixed his tie "_Well, unfortunately the girls don't really stand a chance" _he smirked _"I have a beautiful fiancee and son"_ Nathan's smile widened as he talked about Haley and Ryan.  
The interviewer looked at Nathan slightly shocked "_You know, we'd heard some rumours about that but we didn't know if that was true. how long you two been together?"_ He asked.  
_"We've been best friends all our lives, but we only got together about a year ago"_ Nathan explained

Haley smiled seeing Nathan talk about his and Haley's relationship. Ryan giggled and clapped excitedly as he saw Nathan on the screen. Haley chuckled as she walked towards her son, crouching down to rest her arms on the crib she smiled at her son  
"Yeah, that's daddy" she whispered excitedly

_"Well then, anything you'd like to say to your girl?" _the interviewer asked as they wrapped up.  
Nathan smiled and took a deep breath turning to look into the camera. Haley felt her heart skip a beat as she looked into his piercing blue eyes. _How do they still have an effect on me when he's across the country? _ she thought _damn, I'm whipped_  
_"Haley" _Nathan started _"Hey hales, I miss you and Ryan so much. I love you, Bye"_

Haley smiled as she felt the tears start to roll down her cheek. "I love you too Nathan" she whispered

...

Nathan let out a sigh as he flopped down onto his bed. He was exhausted. And cranky. he missed his son, his friends.  
His girl.  
They had won their game, 60-45. Nathan had scored 16 points, and had 12 assists. He was so tired.  
Nathan let out a deep breath as he felt himself falling asleep, his eyes slowly drooping shut as he felt his body relax.  
He was on the verge of sleep when he heard it. The faint buzzing of his phone.

He groaned as he blindly reached around for his phone, he looked up at the screen and smiled.  
_Haley. _A cute photo of Haley and Ryan in their backyard lit up the screen behind her name  
He quickly touched the 'answer' icon and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey" he whispered  
_"Hey Baby, did I wake you?"_ she asked.  
"No!" Nathan exclaimed sarcastically "Well, maybe" he chuckled.  
_"I'm sorry. I just wanted to say you played great" _he could see the smile on her face _"I miss you so much baby"_  
"I miss you too Hales" he whispered "my flight's in two days though"  
Haley groaned dramatically through the phone _"Thank god, I don't know if I could survive any longer"  
_Nathan chuckled "Me neither baby. I'm going crazy without you"  
_"Me too"_ Haley whispered as she sniffled.

Nathan sat up in his bed, worry seizing him instantly. "Hales, baby? What's wrong"  
_"I'm sorry"_ she sniffled _"I just...I didn't think it'd be this hard"  
_"What would be sweetie?" He gently coaxed her.  
_"The whole long distance thing. I know you're only gone for a few days, weeks tops. It's just hard when you're gone. Especially when we're trying to plan a wedding, and school, and Ryan" she took a deep breath __"It's just hard, and I miss you"_ she whispers down the line.

"Hales" Nathan whispered, guilt setting in his veins "I'm so sorry"  
_"No. No, no, no. Please don't be sorry. It's not your fault" _she interjected _"I just, I really miss you that's all. come home soon okay?"_  
"I'll be there as soon as I can. There's no where else I'd rather be. I love you, you know that right?" He pressed  
_"I know. I love you too, I'll see you in two days baby"  
_"Night Hales"  
_"Goodnight Nathan"_

Nathan sighed as he put down the phone. He flopped back in bed and sighed. This distance thing was killing them both.

...

Haley sighed as she heard her son cry. She looked at her clock, _4:15 am._ She stopped for a moment and stretched her arms, her body aching and crying out against her attempt to get up. She stopped short when she heard Ryan's crying cease, and instead reduce to little gurgles. She smiled and flopped back down, sighing contently. Her eyes shot back open in realisation. Her son never just settled back down like that. She and Nathan had been trying to let him self-soothe to get back to sleep, but he never wanted to, he was incredibly dependent on his parents to try and get back to sleep.

Haley jumped out of bed, and raced down the hall. She stopped short as she saw the sight in her son's room.  
Nathan.  
"Shhh, it's ok buddy. Daddy's home" she heard him whisper.

"Hi" she said walking further into the room  
Nathan looked up, shocked for a second. "Hey baby" he said placing Ryan back in his crib.  
"I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow?"  
"I talked to the coach. He let me off early" he explained.  
"Why?" Haley looked at him confused.  
Nathan shrugged "You needed me" he whispered, a nervous-shy emotion covering his face.

Haley smiled as she felt tears flood her eyes. She crossed the floor and catapulted herself towards Nathan. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. He held her tight as she finally relaxed in his arms.  
"I missed you so much" she whispered as she continued to cry.  
Nathan pulled away, resting one hand on the small of her back, and using the other one to brush away her fallen tears.

"hey" he soother "enough crying" he kissed her forehead.  
Haley softly chuckled, nodding her head and wiping her nose with the back of her hand, not caring about how 'ladylike' she was in the moment.  
"Sorry" she whispered as Nathan let out a little laugh  
"It's ok" he said "come on, let's get out of here"

Haley nodded as she grasped Nathan's hand in hers and led him back to their bedroom.  
She closed the door behind her and immediately attacked Nathan's lips, linking her hand together behind his neck.  
Nathan was shocked for a second, before he wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back with equal fervour.  
"I missed you so much" Haley whispered as she hurriedly pulled his shirt up his chest.  
Nathan smiled against her lips as she moved quickly, not wanting to waste any time. Nathan however, had other plans.  
"Whoa, slow down Hales" he said grasping her hands once more.  
Haley pouted as Nathan halted her attempts "Nathan, I haven't seen you in over a week!" she whined "it's been long enough as it is, I need you" she whispered attempting to kiss him again.

Nathan ducked back to avoid her, smiling down at his suddenly lascivious fiancee.  
"I know baby, I know" he kissed her forehead "but I want to savour this. Let's just take this slow" he whispered, leaning down again to kiss her.

Nathan ran his tongue against her bottom lip seeking entrance, which Haley immediately allowed. Nathan moved towards the bed, pushing Haley with him until her knees gently hit the edge of the mattress. Haley gently tugged at his shirt as Nathan lifted his arms, their lips detaching for her to pull his shirt over her head. Nathan discarded Haley's sleeping shirt as well before gently laying them both down on the bed.

Haley grasped the sides of Nathan's face, pulling her lips back up to meet his. Nathan's hand ran up the side of her waist. He kissed down the side of her neck, his lips travelled down her chest peppering light kisses all over her body. Haley let out a contented moan. Her fingers came to rake through his hair, pulling slightly as he sucked on her skin determined to leave his mark. He groaned at her actions.

"Nathan" she whispered "please, I need more" she pleaded.  
Nathan gently moved one hand from its position on her waist up to her right breast while his mouth moved down from her neck to her left. His mouth enveloped her nipple while he used his other hand to massage her other breast.

Haley audibly moaned at the sensations Nathan was creating within her. She could feel the surge of heat rush through her body and up her legs. She wrapped her legs around Nathan's waist and dug her toes into the waistband of his sweats, trying to push them down. Nathan smirked at her attempts and, reluctantly, removed his body from hers and stood up, pulling down his sweats and boxers before quickly removing her shorts and underwear, throwing the clothing haphazardly behind him.

He lay back down, his body half on top of hers as his lips joined with hers once more. Haley rolled them both so that she was now straddling his waist, wanting to take control and speed things up a little. Haley stroked his cock, positioning him at her entrance silently begging him. Nathan wasn't one to deny her. He thrust his hips up towards her, joining his body with hers.

Haley frantically ground her body against him, trying to gain some friction between the two, but Nathan grabbed her hips, slowing her down."Relax baby" he whispered bringing his body up so that his chest was against her stomach "We have time" he whispered before slowly rocking his hips against hers, and taking her breast back into his mouth.

Haley's mouth opened wide, her head tipped back as she held Nathan's head to her chest. It had been too long since they had been together and she was enjoying every moment of their love making. "Nathan" she moaned as he gently rolled her nipple between his teeth "I'm close babe" she let out in a breathy sigh. Nathan doubled his efforts, quickening his pace and soon Haley was screaming his name as she hit her climax, Nathan following a moment later.

They both collapsed breathless onto the bed. Nathan withdrew from within her and lay on his back, pulling her with him so she lay on her left side, her head laying on his chest her right leg stretched across both of his, with her arm wrapped around his waist.  
"Well" Nathan spoke regaining his breath "That's one hell of a welcome home"  
Haley giggled at his statement as she moved her hand to lay on his chest gently drawing patterns along his chest with her fingers.  
"What can I say? I really missed you" she said leaning up to kiss her cheek

Nathan smiled "I'm sorry I've been away so long, but I have good news" he spoke looking down at her "Coach K said I can have a few weeks off"  
Haley lifted her head, her smile brightening her whole face "Seriously?"  
"Yeah" he told her "Apparently, there's a rule that each player has to take a certain amount of games off each semester. So he said that I can miss next game, which means I don't have to leave for eight weeks" he smiled

"That's the best news I've heard all week" she said kissing him once more "I love you"  
Nathan smiled, he would never tire of hearing those words "I love you too" he whispered before planting his lips on hers again and gearing up for round two.

**A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry I've been so slow with updates school's killing me even in the holidays! I will definitely have Thibbs65's college story up tonight and I will try and update my other stories in the next couple of days. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	29. The Wedding

**A/N: HEY LOVELY READERS! Sorry it's been soooo long since I've updated any of my stories. Life and school got in the way and the only writing I had time for had to do with my assignments and my school captain candidacy speech which I give tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed for me! This is the second last chapter of for better or for worse, the next few chapters will all be epilogues of types.**

**SIDENOTE: the wedding dress and bridesmaids dressing are the same as in season 3 of the show. The vows are a bit different, but some of Haley's are taken from the show as well.**

**Enjoy!**

**29\. The Wedding**

Haley stood in her off white coloured gown which Brooke had made her. She wore a strapless dress which clung to her top half and flowed out slightly at her waist, with a small train at the bottom. A simple yet elegant veil adorned her head, reaching halfway down her back, sheltering her exposed shoulders. She couldn't believe the day was finally here.

June 12th, 2008.  
Haley and Nathan's wedding day.

They had decided to get married in Tree Hill where Lydia and Jimmy James married. it was a beautiful yard beside the church her parents had married in, with a beautiful purple wildflower tree which they would be married under.

Ryan was just under a year old, and was on the verge of starting to talk. Haley and Nathan had both been encouraging him to say 'mama' or 'dada'. It had been a bit of a game between the two, joking that whichever parents name Ryan's first was would determine who his favourite was. So far they had only got small mumblings out of him, but nothing that sounded like a word.

Haley looked up as Brooke and Peyton disappeared from the corridor in which they waited, their red dresses flashing past her eyes as they walked toward the aisle with Lucas and Jake. Haley smiled up at her father as he held out his arm for her.

"This is it Bob" Jimmy James spoke "You ready for the rest of your life?"  
Haley smiled as she looked at the end of the aisle "I've been ready for a long time Daddy. Just, don't me fall" she whispered the last part as she squeezed his upper arm.  
Jimmy reached his right hand over his chest to pat the hand holding onto him "Never"

Haley's stomach was doing flip flops. She had waited for this day for the better half of nineteen years. She had fantasised and dreamed about it her entire childhood. Nathan and her would even play pretend wedding in the backyard when they were four years old.

She looked up and was met with his piercing blue eyes and staggering smile. _The things that smile does to me_ she thought as she bit her lip. Jimmy shook Nathan's hand and kissed his daughter's cheek, before handing her over to the love of her life.

"We are gathered her today" the priest started... Soon it was time for the vows  
"Nathan" The priest nodded towards the young man. Nathan smiled as he squeezed Haley's hands within his own  
"Haley, you've always been there for me. You've been my best friend for nineteen years. A lot of people didn't think we would make it. With Ryan, and college. But I don't think they ever really understood the love I had for you. And how hard we have fought to make this work. I love you and our son more and more each day, and I cannot wait for you to be my wife, and for us to expand our wonderful family. And to be with you for the rest of our lives. This I promise you, Now. And always. And forever"

The priest smiled as he turned towards the bride "Haley" he motioned for her to speak  
Haley smiled brightly up at Nathan as her eyes glistened with tears.  
"Nathan, it's been said that there's one word that will free us from the weight and the pain of life, and that word is love. And I truly believe that. Senior year was one of the most painful and agonising years of my life, and you stuck by me through it all. You believed in me, and you cared for me, and you loved me, and suddenly it wasn't as painful anymore" Haley's voice cracked as she struggled to hold in her tears "And that doesn't mean that it won't be hard ever again, it just means that I've found a stillness and bravery in myself, with you. You make me brave. And you make the darkest days seem brighter. And I will love you until the end of time, I promise you that" she whispered the ending as her tears slowly started to slip.

Nathan ducked his head down and captured her lips with his. He pulled back and wiped away her tears as she smiled at him.  
"Uh, I think that part was for a little later son" the priest joked as everyone laughed.  
The priest gave a small sermon, and Brooke and Peyton stood up to recite a quote on love, and soon Haley and Nathan were exchanging rings. They held their hands together, both of them gently tracing their thumbs over the others rings as the priest spoke the words they had both been waiting so long to hear.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Nathan, you may now kiss your bride"  
"Finally!"He yelled as he swooped her in his arms and kissed her passionately, as their guests all cried and cheered.  
They pulled back after a minute, taking in a breath of much needed air.  
"You're mine now, Mrs Scott" Nathan smirked down at his wife.  
"I've always been yours Mr Scott. Always and Forever" she smiled as he kissed her once more.

**A/N: OK! So, I know that chapter was a little short, but the last chapter - The Epilogue - will be MUCH MUCH MUCH longer. We'll get to see them celebrate their wedding, new children, first words, other weddings. It will be a series of time jumps all in one chapter to wrap up my first ever multi-chapter story!**

**I Hope you guys are still reading and are still with me even though I've taken such a long break from updating! I will be updating all my other stories sometime this week as well. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW and let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the final six chapters.**

**\- Maddie :)**


	30. Here We Go Again

**A/N: OK, so I might have lied about this being the Epilogue...The truth is that this story was my first multi chapter and I still have a few more things to add that were originally going to be part of the epilogue, but I think they needed the full chapter for them. This will 100%, most definitely finish at 35 chapters. No more, no less. So I hope you like the last six chapters ever of For Better or For Worse :)**

**NOTE: I do not know anything about the NBA draft so what I've written is what I've quickly googled to gather an understanding. ALSO Nathan and Haley's house is their massive one from seasons 7-9.**

**Enjoy!**

**30\. Here We Go Again**

*NOVEMBER 11th, 2010*

Haley sighed as she grasped the bowl of the toilet, letting her stomach relax after having heaved out what was left of her dinner from the other night. She stood up slowly and walked over to the sink, her hand tightening around the edge as she took a deep breath.  
She smiled weakly as she felt strong arms wrap around her. She looked up in the mirror and her eyes met Nathan's as he kissed her temple.  
"You still not over that flu babe?" He whispered to his wife  
"Yeah, I think so" she whispered as she leaned her head back against his chest closing her eyes.

"it's been ten days, maybe you should check in with the doctor again" he suggested, worry setting in.  
Haley could see the frown on his face and turned in his arms "Hey, it's ok. I'll sleep for a little bit today and if I still feel this bad then I'll go and see the doctor tomorrow ok?" she said kissing his cheek "Besides, we've got to finish setting up for Ryan's birthday on Sunday"  
Nathan smiled, their baby boy was turning 3 in two days, and everyone was coming to stay the weekend at their house.

So much had happened in the past three years since they had been married. Haley and Nathan had both graduated last year, Nathan with a degree in business with a minor in Sports Management, and Haley with a degree in Teaching with a minor in English. Haley was now an English teacher at Tree Hill High, and Nathan was slowly learning the ins and outs of Clay's Agency - his agent. Nathan had finally achieved his dream of playing in the NBA, straight out of college. Haley smiled thinking about the day they had found out.

...

_Haley let out a shriek as she saw her husband of two years standing in the doorway of their college housing dorm. She smiled as she put down the laundry and walked towards him, stopping short as she saw the tears shining his eyes.  
"What's wrong?" she asked as she looked up at him, only to see a smile spread across his face  
"I love you so much" he whispered as he kissed her "You know that right?"_

_She frowned, wrapping her arms around his neck "I know, I love you too Nathan. What's going on? You're worrying me" she replied pulling her hand back to stroke his cheek rhythmically.  
Nathan smiled even wider "That's the thing Hales. Nothing's wrong, it's all perfect" he said again  
"Ok" she shook her head, muttering 'I'm so lost right now'. She looked back up at her husband "So, what makes life so perfect?" she smiled  
"Well for starters, I've got great parents, a wonderful son, a wife who's so far out of my league I hope she never realises" he chuckled as she swatted his shoulder and started to walk back to the laundry she had to fold_

_"Oh! And I'm in the NBA" He smiled as she stopped in her place. turning to face him with a stunned look on her face  
"What?" she whispered feeling tears prick her eyes as he walked towards her, shutting the door behind him  
"Clay just called on my way here. I'm the sixth pick in the draft for the Charlotte Bobcats" he replied.  
Haley let out a loud squeal as she leaped into Nathan's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck as his went around her waist, laughing as he spun her around their living room._

_"I can't believe this! Baby this is amazing!" She exclaimed  
"Thank you Haley" he said kissing her "Thank you for believing in me"  
Haley smiled "I will always believe in you, I love you Nathan Scott"_

...

Haley groaned as she was awoken by a loud knock on the front door. She got up slowly, knowing that if she moved to fast she'd end up with her head over the toilet bowl again. She made her way down the stairs and glared as she opened the door to Brooke and Peyton's smiling faces.  
"You do realise I'm sick right? I'm sleeping" Haley groaned  
"Oh stop being such a cranky-pants mama Scott" Brooke said as she walked past Haley and into the living room.  
"Seriously Hales, this house is way too big for you three" Peyton said as she followed after Brooke

Haley smiled as she looked around the open planned living room, remembering When Nathan had first shown it to her a year ago

_"What ar_e we going to do with all this space Nathan!?" _Haley exclaimed as she stood on the backyard deck next to the pool, her arms leaning against the rail_  
_Nathan smirked and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck gently "Well, we're just going to have to fill this place up with lots" kiss "and lots" kiss "of children" She smiled as he turned her around to face him and kissed him again._

"Hales!" Brooke snapped her fingers in front of Haley sitting across from her and Peyton.  
"Sorry" Haley snapped out of her memories "I'm a bit all over the place when I'm sick" She said plopping her head on the couch  
Brooke chuckled "Yeah, and I'm sure the PMSing isn't helping either"  
Haley's head snapped back up and looked at Brooke slightly stunned "PMS?" she stated confused

Brooke frowned as she looked at her friend "Yeah, considering I just finished up you should be starting. We've been in sync since we started Hales" she stated in an obvious manner.  
Haley's eyes widened as she counted in her head.

"Oh my god"

...

Nathan smiled as he watched Ryan running around with Lucas and Brooke, rolling his eyes at they shared a small laugh and sneaked kisses every minute when the kids weren't looking. They had just gotten back from their honeymoon and were still in their own little bubble - Brooke was now successfully running her own clothing line - Davis Scott - with the help of her mother, and Lucas was now writing his third book after the success of his first book, _An Unkindness of Ravens_. The only ones they were waiting on to tie the know now were Jake and Peyton, and Julian and Alex. Peyton was now seven months pregnant and on maternity leave from running her company - Red Bedroom Records and Jake was teaching music at Tree Hill High with Haley while working on releasing his album. Jake and Peyton weren't even engaged yet, claiming that they already knew they would be together for the rest of their lives so 'why rush things'?

Julian and Alex had gone through a rough patch during college and had broken up for a few months when Alex decided to pursue her music career and left to go on tour, leaving Julian heartbroken. But she came back a few months later realising the mistake she had made in letting him go, and they slowly started to rebuild their friendship and relationship. They had been going strong for two and a half years, and Julian was planning to propose when she got back from her West Coast tour next month and he had finished directing and producing the pilot episode of the TV show of _An Unkindness or Ravens_

Nathan chuckled as his son spotted him sitting on a patio chair, watching as the little boys eyes lit up with excitement as he ran over to him. Nathan put out his hands as the little boy charged at him, picking him up and placing him on his hip  
"Hey buddy" he cheerfully spoke as he wrapped his son in his arms  
"Daddy" Ryan exclaimed excitedly "Miss you" he simply said wrapping his little arms around his father's neck. He was still getting the hang of stringing full sentences together.  
Nathan smiled brightly "I missed you too Ry" he said kissing his son's chubby cheek.

He walked over to the other kids playing on the swing set Haley had picked out for their ample backyard space. He placed his son on the top of the slide and waited with his arms open at the end of the slide for Ryan to come down.  
Ryan let out a loud giggle as Nathan swooped him into his arms when he reached him. "Where mama?" Ryan asked as he looked around for Haley  
Nathan frowned "I dunno buddy, how about you go play with Uncle Jake and Uncle Lucas while I go find her?" he said as he walked over to the seating area on the deck and handed Ryan to Jake who was sitting with Peyton.

Nathan walked through the living room and kitchen looking for his wife, calling out as he did so. His frown deepened as he wondered where she could be.  
"Hales?" he called as he walked through the door to their bedroom, noticing the high heels she had been wearing laying on the floor. He moved towards the bathroom and knocked lightly "Hales?" he called through the door again.

He felt himself panic as he hears a sniffle sound of through the bathroom, he quickly opened the door and rushed in. He stopped short at the sight of his wife leaning against the vanity, holding a white stick in her hand. A pregnancy test.  
"Haley?" he questioned again, causing her to look from the test to his eyes. She smiled as he looked at her, tears rushing down her face.  
"I didn't even think about it, I've been so sick and stressed from work that I didn't even realise I'd skipped my period twice" she rambled as she tried to collect her thoughts, and comprehend what was happening  
"So..." He started  
"We're pregnant!" Haley exclaimed as Nathan wrapped his arms around her and kissed her; they stood there for a few minutes, locked in each other's embrace. They pulled apart when they could feel things beginning to escalate and tried to control their breathing as Haley looked up at Nathan, tears beginning to shine in his eyes as well.

"We're having a baby" He whispered as their foreheads rested against one another's  
"Here we go again" Haley laughed as she kissed him quickly once more  
Nathan smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her out towards the bedroom "Come on, we've got to go finish celebrating. Ryan was wondering where you were"  
Haley's eyes widened "Crap. I was so focused on taking the test as soon as I could I forgot we were in the middle of a party!" she laughed as she quickly put her shoes back on and walked with Nathan downstairs and to their son, who ran towards his mother the moment he saw her

"Hi mama" he whispered as he tucked his face into the crook of her neck, sighing contently. Haley smiled and stroked her hand through his hair  
"Looks like we wore him out" Brooke said as she and Lucas sat down at one of the couches, while Nathan and Haley smiled and said their goodbyes to their guests as they all slowly filed out one by one.

...

It was now night, and Brooke, Lucas, Peyton and Jake had stayed for dinner as all their parents had come to visit for Ryan's birthday and for Peyton's baby shower next week.  
Lydia smiled as she watched her daughter and son-in-law wrapped in each other's arms, smiling and sharing the occasional kiss, completely wrapped up in their own world.  
"Hey lovebirds!" she exclaimed, forcing the two to look at their friends and family around them. Lydia rolled her eyes and spoke with a shake of her head "I swear you're just as bad as when you were 16, if not worse"  
Nathan and Haley smiled at each other and nodded before sitting up properly and addressing their family.

"Well, we've got some news that we think can justify why we're so happy" Haley vaguely answered.  
They both smiled at the now curious and expectant faces of each person in the room.  
Haley looked to Nathan and smiled "Haley's pregnant" he announced  
"FINALLY!" Peyton yelled, causing everyone to jump slightly. They all looked at her slightly confused by her outburst "I finally get to be a godmother! I've been waiting three damn years for you to knock her up!" She exclaimed as everyone laughed.  
Jimmy stood up and shook Nathan's hand before wrapping his arms around his daughter in congratulations.

"You know" he started as they pulled apart "I always knew Nathan would make you happy, but I never thought it'd be this much. This kind of love, the kind of love I have for your mother, it's all I've ever wanted for you and your siblings. I'm so proud of you Bob" he finished as Haley hugged him again, trying desperately to hold back tears.

Nathan and Haley smiled as they looked around their living room at their family. Lydia and Deb were talking about Ryan and their new grandchild, Dan and Jimmy were next to them discussing their 'mens club business' as they deemed it, the other adults were all standing around the island bar in the kitchen drinking wine and catching up, and Julian, Brooke, Lucas, Peyton and Jake were seated on the two seater couch with Brooke and Lucas in the love-seat next to it discussing Peyton and Jake's baby and Nathan and Haley's impending child growing up together with Brooke and Peyton fantasising about them falling in love and all other scenarios much to the boys amusement.

"We really do have the best life don't we?" Haley asked him as she looked up at him behind her.  
Nathan smiled down at her and pecked her lips "We really do. I feel so blessed to have our friends and family, and you, and our son. And hopefully, our daughter" he said placing a hand on her stomach  
"A girl?" she said  
Nathan shook his head "Your Ryan's favourite. I want me a cute little 'daddy's girls' to spoil" he justified  
Haley laughed at his reasoning, he was such an amazing father and she loved seeing him grow as a person everyday with Ryan  
"I love you so much my heart hurts, you have no idea" she whispered as he leaned down to kiss her  
"I do, because I love you just as much Haley James Scott" he said as his lips met hers once more.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yes Naley's pregnant again, Brucas is married, Jeyton's expecting - but not even engaged? and Julian and Alex are getting there too. Next chapter might be Peyton's baby shower and some Brucas baby talk plus a Naley doctors visit.  
****As always, PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	31. Baby shower of Surprise

**A/N: I found out today that I have to have my surgery on September 10th, so I'm going to try and get most of this story done before then. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen in the remaining chapters**

**Enjoy!**

**31\. Baby shower of Surprise**

"Haley James Scott!" Brooke yelled as she walked through the door "Get your preggo ass down from that counter right now before you hurt yourself!"  
Haley shook her head at Brooke "Tigger, I've been pregnant before. I know what I'm doing. Besides I'm almost done setting up" Haley said as she knelt on top of the counter at Karen's Café, stretching across to stick the last streamer on the edge of the ceiling. She jumped slightly as she felt a pair of hands on her waist, looking down she saw Brooke holding her steady.

"If you think I'm going to let you fall and have that on my conscience..." Brooke said shaking her head  
Haley rolled her eyes as she secured the streamer before climbing down off the counter "You say the sweetest things to me Brooke Davis" she said as she hugged her best friend. Brooke shrugged in reply before returning the hug.  
"You did a good job Hales" she said  
Haley smiled as she looked around at the room "I did, didn't I?" she replied smugly  
Brooke shook her once more "that husband of yours is a bad influence, especially when it comes to your ego" she said making Haley giggle slightly at the statement.

...

_Ding ding ding! _The sound of Brooke tapping her spoon on her champagne glass diverted everyone's attention towards her and Haley who now stood at their table.  
It was now 4:00pm, closing in on the end of Peyton's baby shower, and the two best friends had one more thing planned before wrapping up.  
"Firstly, thank you to everyone for coming. We're so happy you could come and celebrate P Sawyer's big day" Brooke smiled  
"We just wanted to say congratulations once more to Peyton, and Jake, and wish you both the best of luck with this little rugrat you've created" Haley laughed before continuing "We love you so much Peyton, and we're so thankful to have you in our lives and I promise you that your family will always have a place with us"

Peyton stood and wrapped her arms around the two women, tears flowing freely.  
"Thank you" she whispered "I love you both so much"  
They broke away from the hug and Brook let out a slight groan "Dammit my makeup" she muttered before looking back at the group of friends and family who had gathered to celebrate with Peyton "Now, we have one more very special surprise for the mother-to-be" she said sitting Peyton down before walking to the back with Haley.

Peyton frowned slightly when Haley and Brooke came back with a letter and rose in their hands. Brooke handed the rose over while Haley gave the envelope. Peyton looked down at the letter and smiled as she noticed Jake's handwriting

_Come up to the rooftop.  
_

_J x_

Peyton looked up at her two best friends suspiciously, to which they simply replied with cheeky grins plastered on their faces.  
Peyton stood slowly, pressing her hand against her back as she felt her body protest. She took a deep breath before walking towards the staircase leading up to the rooftop. She pushed open the emergency door, walking out further before looking up and stopping short.

Jake

She saw her boyfriend in a tux, with a bright smile plastered on his face. There were roses and candles flooding the floor and music playing softly in the background. Jake walked over to her and knelt before her, taking her hand in his before speaking

"Peyton Sawyer, I've dreamt of marrying you since I asked you out when we were fourteen. And while our journey hasn't always been easy, it has been everything. I know we said there wasn't a rush, but I've been dying to make you my wife everyday for the past eight years that we've been together. So, Peyton Sawyer, will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

Peyton stared at the beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring. Jake's grandmother's ring, the family heirloom.  
She nodded her head as tears sprung to her eyes once again "yes" she whispered as Jake stood up, placed the ring on her finger, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He kissed her long and hard as tears of joy appeared in his eyes as well.

They broke apart at the sound of clapping coming from behind them. Haley, Brooke, Lucas, Nathan, Julian, Alex and all the family and friends that were at the shower were now standing behind them and along the staircase clapping and cheering. Peyton mock glared at the two women who simply laughed in response

"You two knew this whole time!?" She said as the group raced over to hug the couple  
Haley nodded her head as she wrapped her arms around Jake and Peyton "Congratulations"

Peyton and Jake smiled, enjoying the embrace of their closest friends.  
This was their life. and life was pretty damn good.

**A/N: So, Jeyton is now finally engaged! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, next will be a time jump to the end of Haley's pregnancy and we'll get to meet baby Jeyton and see the plans for Julian and Alex and also Brooke and Lucas' future  
****Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	32. We're Having A

**A/N: Well you all are lucky, I wasn't going to update this until after my surgery BUT my brother forgot to return the spare keys to my neighbours so I'm locked out of the house for a solid hour and a half. So, I present to you the next chapter! This will be Nathan and Haley finding out the sex of the baby, and another surprise. plus two time jumps at the beginning and middle of the chapter.**

**Brooke's slightly crass in her little scene, but I think that Brooke Davis always had a bit of a potty mouth haha  
OH! And this chapter is a bit more M rated...**

**Enjoy!**

**32\. We're Having A...**

*FOUR MONTHS LATER ~ March 13th, 2011*

Nathan smiled as his wife walked down the stairs and into their kitchen. She was now fourth months pregnant and glowing, at least in his eyes.  
"Good morning" he said huskily as he leaned down to kiss her lips, sighing when he instead got her cheek.  
"This is your fault you know" She grumbled as she sat on the stool at the island bench. She looked down at her swollen belly and back up at her husband  
"It's your fault I'm this fat" she pouted

Nathan chuckled as he walked over to Haley, placing her breakfast down in front of her  
"Baby you're not fat. You're pregnant. And I will gladly accept the blame if it means you and I get to bring another child into this world" he grinned kissing her softly  
Haley smiled as she pulled away, her earlier glum mood now dissipating at her husband's words "Seriously though, I'm like double the size of what I was with Ryan. I think I'm actually getting fatter by the minute" she said

"Good" Nathan smirked "It means our baby will be tall" he replied  
Haley glared at him jokingly "So it's ok if I look like a weeble wobble so long as our child can dunk a basket?" she said  
"Exactly" nathan laughed as Haley threw a piece of strawberry at him from her plate.  
Nathan sat next to her after serving his own breakfast, and they ate in a comfortable silence

"So, you excited for today?" Nathan asked her  
haley smiled brightly "Yes, I can't wait to find out we're having a girl" She replied  
Nathan shook his head "You're still so sure it's a girl huh?"  
Haley looked at him cockily "You just watched, it'll be a girl. Maternal instinct" she said as she got up and walked back upstairs to get ready for their doctors appointment.

* * *

"Good morning you three" Dr. Greene said as she entered the room with the Scott family inside "How are we today?"  
Haley and Nathan smiled brightly "We're good, excited. How about you, Emma? How's Matty doing?" she replied  
Dr. Green smiled "He's loving Stanford so much. I'm scared he might not come back home" She joked

Haley and Dr. Greene had grown close over the duration of Haley's pregnancy with Ryan. She trusted the woman and had met her children on several occasions.  
"Well, let's see if Baby Scott will feel like giving us a little show today" Dr. Greene said as she turned on the ultrasound machine. Haley lay back on the exam bed, her right hand holding Nathan's firmly while Ryan sat in Nathan's lap. Dr. Greene squeezed the gel onto Haley's stomach, all of them looking at the screen intently, waiting for the picture of their baby to appear.

"Baby!" Ryan yelled out as the screen lit up  
Nathan chuckled as he bent his face down next to his son's "Yeah Ry, that's your baby brother or sister" he said as the child giggled and clapped excitedly.  
"Well, we've got a strong heartbeat" The doctor said as the room filled with the _whoosh whoosh_ of the baby's heartbeat.  
Haley's smiled faltered slightly as she noticed Dr. Greene's frown "Is something wrong?" she asked.  
Dr. Greene looked back up at them and smiled "actually, I've got even more news for you" she said  
Haley looked at her nervously, then back at the screen as the doctor pointed to it  
"You're having a girl" she said

Haley cried as she laughed, feeling both joy and relief in that moment "I told you it was a girl" she said looking over at Nathan  
"You were right" He said kissing her hand  
"Actually" Dr. Greene butted in "You both were"  
Nathan and Haley's heads snapped back to her in confusion "Excuse me?" Nathan said, not sure of how that was possible  
Dr. Greene moved her hand slightly to the right of the screen "You've got a little boy as well" she said as realisation hit.  
"Are you saying..." Haley asked in shocked

Dr. Greene shook her head and smiled "congratulations, you're having twins"

* * *

*THREE MONTHS LATER ~ June 12th, 2011*

"I can't believe how boring you two are being!" Brooke said as she placed Ryan in her car seat "It's your third wedding anniversary, you should be fucking each other's brains out. not sitting at home watching some boring ass romantic comedy"

Since she had entered her second trimester, Haley had felt a lot more energetic. and Nathan had been reaping the benefits. and she was now regretting having told Brooke and Peyton about her pregnant, horny tendencies.

"Brooke!" Haley yelled, feeling heat rise to her cheeks "My son is right there with his very sensitive ears. I swear if he comes back with any more potty mouthed words you're never looking after him ever again" she threatened.  
Brook rolled her eyes "Oh please, You need me. Now that Jake and Peyton are so preoccupied with little Elizabeth me and Lucas are your only option since we don't have any kids yet" she responded

Haley frowned at Brooke "How come you two haven't had kids yet? Honestly, I would've though you'd be the first out of all of us"  
Brooke shrugged "It's not like we don't want them, we're just not actively trying. I mean, I'm not on birth control or anything but we've both agreed that when it happens it happens" she replied, her voice displaying her slight aggitation "We're not in any rush to have kids. We're only 23 years old tutor girl"  
Haley held up her hands in surrender, feeling that Brooke was beginning to feel defensive "hey, to each their own" she said.  
Brooke smiled at her best friend before looking at her godson "besides, we get to have the parental perks of looking after this guy without all the responsibility" she smirked as she shut the door and walked around to the driver's seat.

Haley hugged Brooke before stepping back and letting Brooke get into the car.  
"You know it's not too late to go out, celebrate your anniversary properly, come home and have some fun" Brooke said smiling slyly  
Haley shrugged "I don't exactly feel very sexy lately. I look like a whale, and the twins keep kicking and shoving around in there" Haley said pointing to her six month pregnant belly.  
Brooke smiled sympathetically at her friend "Hales, you're gorgeous. Trust me, boytoy is not going to want to leave you alone tonight" she winked as she started her car, waving out the window before driving off.

Brooke stopped at a red light and quickly messaged Nathan  
_Ryan's officially out of your hair. Have fun tonight ;)_

* * *

Haley sighed as she made her way back into the house, lately she was doing a lot more waddling than walking due to her pregnancy. "Nathan?" She called out, surprised when she didn't hear an answer. She walked upstairs to their bedroom and opened the door, not finding her husband, but a box on the bed.

She sat down and put the box in her lap, opening it up to reveal a light pink strapless maternity dress, with black jewels running across the bottom of the bust. She smiled as she saw the noted taped to the top

_This made me think of you, it's almost as beautiful as you are.  
Get ready, I'll be there at six.  
Love Nathan xx_

Haley looked at the clock, 5:45pm. She had fifteen minutes. She quickly raced into the shower and washed her body keeping her hair tied up, then doing her make up and curling her hair so it fell to one side and down her right shoulder. Her honey blonde hair rested gently on her belly and she slipped on her black lace lingerie - Nathan's favourite - and then her dress. She was rummaging through her closet for her black open toed heels when she heard the bell ring.

"Crap" she muttered to herself as she blindly stuck her feet into the shoes, not being able to properly bend over and put them on.  
She walked a step slowly to make sure she had put them both on properly, before grabbing her black clutch and racing to get the door  
"Hold on!" She yelled as she speed-walked to the door, opening it up to reveal Nathan in a light blue button up shirt and his black suit pants.

"Hi" he said leaning down to kiss her  
"Hi" she smiled once they broke away from their kiss "what happened to a romantic comedy?"  
Nathan smiled "You don't think really I asked Brooke to take our son for the night just so we could stay home and watch a movie did you?"  
Haley chuckled "I should have realised you were planning something"  
Nathan smiled as he took her hand and led her through the door and out to the care "Let's go"

* * *

Haley laughed loudly as she walked back through the door of their home.  
"She was practically drooling all over you!" Haley laughed as she recalled the 'moves' the waitress at the restaurant had tried on Nathan  
Nathan grimaced once more "She's my mum's age at least! Did she really think she'd get anywhere when I have as hot a wife as I do?" He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close

"Oh you do huh?" she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck  
Nathan hummed in agreement as he bent down to kiss her. He slipped his tongue out to trace against her lips seeking entrance which she quickly granted. Their kiss escalated and until they couldn't breathe, Nathan moved his lips to her neck as Haley's hand ran through his hair, tugging slightly as he sucked on her soft skin.

They joined their lips together again, Haley pushed the Jacket Nathan had put on in the restaurant back off his shoulders as they blindly made their way through the entrance stumbling into the living room where they dropped down onto the couch, Haley straddling Nathan's lap as she undid the buttons on his shirt while his hands went to the zipper on the back of her dress.

Nathan made fast work of pulling the zipper down to the bottom, his hands softly stroking the exposed skin of Haley's back. He bunched the bottom of her dress in his hands and pushed it up, their lips parting once more while he pulled it up and over her head. He groaned loudly as he saw the black, partially see through, lace maternity lingerie he had picked out for her claiming it was his favourite pair.

His eyes roamed her body, her skin was glowing, her breasts were fuller and her stomach was rounded out. But he still thought she looked like the most beautiful woman alive.  
Haley blushed as she noticed his intense stare and subconsciously moved her hands to hide her body from him, causing Nathan to frown. He gently grabbed her arms and moved them to her sides  
"Don't hide from me" he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her stomach, and the stretch marks that were forming around her belly button from the growth of their babies "You're beautiful Hales, and I love you more and more each day" he whispered against her skin before looking up into her eyes that were brimming with unshed tears.

"I love you too" she said joining her lips to his once more "Make love to me Nathan, Please"  
He smiled back at her, only too happy to oblige. He kissed the tops of her breasts, moving his tongue to trace the top of the right bra cup, before bringing his fingers up to pull the material down so that it bunched together on the underside if her right breast, forcing it up towards his lip. Nathan slowly kissed around the mound before swiping his tongue across her nipple eliciting a moan from Haley, her head tilting back as the rush of sensations hit her.

Nathan brought his left hand up to move the material of the left cup down before taking Haley's other breast in his palm, his rough skin palming the sensitive bud before switching his mouth and hand. He did this for a few more minutes before Haley grew impatient. She pushed him back roughly and attacked his mouth with hers, moving her lips down to suck on his adam's apple resulting in a groan of appreciation from Nathan while she finally got his shirt off completely, flinging it behind her carelessly.

She moved her hands down his chest, over his well defined abs letting her fingers trail through the fine trail of hair leading down to the waistband of his pants. Her hands rest there, the back of her hands touching the well defined 'V' poking out at his pelvis, and her fingers trailing along the waistband as she slowly rolls her hips, grinding against his erection.

Nathan moans loudly and lifts his hips to meet her thrust. Haley quickly unzips his pants and lifts herself off him enough for them both to move his pants and boxers down to his ankles. Nathan keeps one hand on her back to steady her and takes his other hand from its previous position on her breast down her chest, over her belly and down to her delicate lace underwear. He smirks as he moves the fabric aside and strokes her wet lips, gently inserting two fingers back and forth causing a low moan to come from Haley as she moves her body against his hand as his thumb reaches up to push against her clit.

"Nathan" Haley grips his shoulders and squeezes her eyes shut tightly "Please, I need you" she moans out as he adds a third finger. Nathan smiles in satisfaction as he withdraws from her "I hope you're not fond of these" he whispers as he pushes his thumbs through the lace material, Haley's underwear tearing apart in his hands. She looks at him shocked as he throws the torn material behind them to join the pile of clothes on the ground.

"I can't believe you just did that" she whispers slightly in shock yet turned on  
"You liked it" he smirked causing Haley to blush, she couldn't deny it, that one action did things to her.  
Nathan brought his fingers up to his mouth sucking each one slowly as Haley bit her lip. He brought his mouth back to hers, pulling her lower lip out from between her teeth with his own before kissing her deeply. Haley moaned as she lifted her hips up slightly once more as Nathan positioned himself below her, before slowly sinking down onto him.

She yelled out in pleasure as he filled her completely. They stayed still for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being joined together, before Haley started to move against him. Nathan's hips moved in response matching her thrust for thrust, their two bodies slowly moving against one another. Haley kissed him again as she moved faster against him growing impatient of their slow pace, she needed him to greatly to take it slow.

"I need you, Nathan" she moved her mouth to his left ear, nibbling on his earlobe slightly before speaking again "Harder, faster. Please baby"  
Nathan moved his hips faster, slamming into her body over and over again as she moaned loudly. Haley's head fell back again her mouth opened in an 'o' as Nathan brought his hand down between them to her clit, rubbing the small bundle of nerves until he felt her body start to build to its release.

"That's it baby" he whispered as her muscles tightened around his hardened member, he could feel himself ready to explode and he wanted to take her over the edge with him. He picked up his pace further and placed more pressure on her clit with his thumb as Haley yelled out loudly.

"Nathan! I'm.." her words caught in her mouth as she felt her orgasm hit her, she cried out as it hit her full force as Nathan yelled out, joining her in his orgasm. they rode out their release before Haley collapsed against him, both sweaty and breathless, but utterly satisfied.

Nathan moved them so that he was laying down on the side of the couch closest to the floor with Haley laying half on him, and half on the couch, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her slightly sweaty forehead.  
"Happy anniversary Hales" Nathan whispered after he caught his breath. Haley looked up at him and smiled brightly  
"Best anniversary yet"

**A/N: Ok, so I had originally not planned for it to be 3000 words or to have an M rated scene but this is where my mind went.**

**Before I go any further I just want to address a PM I got asking me why I didn't just write an epilogue after 30 chapters and finish the story. The reason for that is because I wanted to show Haley coming full circle in her journey. She started out with a pregnancy that was not conceived in a wanted situation, and she had a lot to deal with but she persevered. The reason I've added the extra five chapters is to show her story coming all the way back around and how this time around it's different and to demonstrate how much she, Nathan and their friends and family have grown.**

**So ... I hope you still like this chapter and what do you think of the twins!? I couldn't decide between boy or girl so I figured 'why not give them both?'**

**As always, PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think!**

**\- Maddie :)**


	33. Babies Scott

**A/N: HEY! I'm surprisingly (relatively) on time with an update for once!? This hasn't happened for so long I'm actually quite impressed with myself. Haha hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, it's friday night and today was the last day of term...I offically start year 12 in two weeks which is nerve racking but im excited. I hope you all like this chapter**

**Credit to Naley 12 who helped me with the kids names :)**

**Enjoy!**

**33\. Babies Scott**

*ONE MONTHS LATER ~ August 18th, 2011*

Haley groaned as she got out of the shower. Her body was tired and her back was killing her.  
it was now mid-afternoon and Nathan was downstairs cooking. Haley sighed as she heard her phone alarm go off, signalling her five minutes were up.

Doctor Greene had put Haley on mandatory bed rest for the last month of her pregnancy; she had fainted in the grocery store a few days ago and luckily Nathan was there to catch her before she hurt herself or the babies. unfortunately for her, she was now considered high risk because of her blood pressure had been raised extremely due to the added weight of the twins and because of her history of pre-eclampsia with her pregnancy with Ryan, they had all agreed that bedrest was the most suitable option to avoid any possible problems.

Haley felt her stomach grumble as she looked at the clock and realised it was almost 1 o'clock.  
"Nathan!" she yelled out. she heard footsteps not too long after followed by Nathan walking into their mast bedroom  
"What's wrong?" he asked kneeling beside her and looking her over frantically

"I'm hungry" she said as she saw Nathan visibly relax "babe, you gotta stop doing that to yourself. You're going to go old and grey worrying over me and the babies, you need to relax"  
Nathan smirked as he kissed her forehead "sorry, but that's one thing that won't change. Now what did you want to eat?"

"Mac and Cheese" she smiled as Nathan nodded walking towards the door, halting at her voice yelling out  
"with onion" he scrunched up his face but continued walking  
"and pickles. oh and chilli!" she yelled out.

Nathan walked back in the room with a slightly disgusted face "Babe, I don't think we have all the ingredient for..._That_" he said, instantly regretting his tone as tears welled in Haley's eyes.

Her hormones had still been a bit out of whack and cravings were a particularly soft spot with her, especially when people made comments about what she was eating.  
Nathan sighed and sat down next to her "I can go get them for you though" he offered

Haley sniffled as she wiped her eyes and pouted "I know I'm disgusting and all Nathan, but I'm carrying twins. Do you know how hard that is!?" she snapped as he crossed her arms over her chest "Guys get the easy job, they knock you up and BAM! job done. They don't have to go through the mood swings, the bladder control - or lack thereof - the weight gain, the exhaustion, the cravings. they don't have to try and push babies the size of watermelons out of their hoo-ha so I don't really think you should complain should you!?" she cried

Nathan wrapped his arms around her as Haley burst into tears "I'm sorry, you're right" he acquiesced "I'll go buy the ingredients now" he said  
"I'm sorry" she sniffled "I didn't mean to be mean"  
Nathan chuckled softly "I know baby, it's ok" he whispered kissing the top of her head before pulling away "I'll be back soon" he spoke before walking out the door and calling Karen to order Haley's special mac and cheese.

"Ask for some pickled onions and chicken noodle soup when you stop by the cafe babe!" she yelled out as Nathan shook his head and chuckled. Life would never be boring with Haley James Scott.

* * *

*ONE MONTH LATE ~ September 9th, 2011*

Nathan groaned as he felt a kick to his shin, he froze as his hand brushed against his wife's leg in their bed. It was wet.  
She was wet.  
Nathan made a face, at first thinking she had some sort of subconscious issue of bladder control due to the twins, but then it clicked in his head. It wasn't anything bad.

Haley's water had broke.

"Hales!" he said as she looked at him in slight pain, taking a deep breath as she felt a contraction rip through her body. Nathan gripped her hand in his, letting her squeeze the colour out of his skin. He felt her hand relax after a few minutes, the contraction subsiding

"How long ago did you water break?" he asked  
"About ten minutes" she groaned out  
"Why didn't you tell me you were having contractions?" he asked  
"i didn't want you up all night waiting on me just because I was having a few small contractions" she said

Nathan focused on the clock as he time how long it took for the next contraction to come.  
Three minutes

"Hales, we gotta get you to the hospital" he said as he got up and quickly pulled on his jeans that he had left next to his bed in case of this happening. He ran into the cupboard and got haley some sweatpants, clean underwear and her slippers and helped her change into them, both of them wearing their pyjama shirts.

Nathan texted Brooke, who was babysitting Ryan the night before because Lucas had gone on a last minute book tour, and she was getting lonely without him.  
Nathan grabbed the hospital bag from the hook at the front door before leading Haley out to the car, buckling them both in and racing off to Tree Hill Hospital.

* * *

"Okay Haley, we're just about done with Baby boy Scott and-" Doctor Greene stopped as she lifted the crying baby up so that Haley could see him from her position on the operating table. Dr Greene had suggested a Caesarean birth to lower the stress on Haley's body, they were now waiting on the delivery of their second child.

"here's your baby boy" Dr Greene smiled before passing the baby to the nurse as she went back to work. Nathan squeezes Haley's hand and kissed her forehead as he smiled which she returned  
"He looks just like his daddy" she whispered as Nathan smiled wider  
"God I love you hales, thank you for giving me our family" he spoke kissing her again as Dr Greene announced

"And baby girl Scott!" Nathan and Haley broke apart and looked at their daughter, who let out a high pitched shriek before the nurse swaddled her in a blanket and passed both babies to Nathan, one in each arm, as he knelt down beside Haley so she could take one.

"Do we have names for them?" Dr Greene asked.  
Haley smiled as she looked at Nathan "Alyssa Brooklyn Scott" she said kissing her daughter's forehead as she lay in her arms  
"And James Connor Scott" Nathan said looking at his son.

"Ok then Haley, let's get you cleaned up so you can spend some more time with your babies" Dr Greene said as Nathan gave the nurse James, before picking up Alyssa and handing her to another nurse, who took both children to the nursery to get their name tags before bringing them back to Haley.

* * *

"Hi Tutor Mum" Brooke said as she opened the door and Ryan raced in "Mama!" he yelled as he tried to jump up on the bed, his three-year-old legs not quite strong enough to push him up on his own. Nathan chuckled and picked up his son as Peyton, Jake, Julian and Alex all walked into the room.

Haley smiled as she sat slightly reclined on her hospital bed, Alyssa and James both cuddled up to her chest. The nurses had said that skin to skin contact for the first few hours of life helps children to establish a comforting and nurturing bond with their mother. Haley had not wanted to let them go, but she knew Brooke wouldn't leave without a cuddle of her new niece and nephew.

Nathan and Haley sat with Ryan on one leg each of theirs, his little legs on either side. Haley was leaning into Nathan as he held her while they watched their children get passed around and affectionately interacted with by each of their friends.

Haley looked at Ryan as he ran his little toy car over Haley's left leg where he sat, pretending to jump the car over to Nathan's right leg that was touching against her left leg.  
"He's getting so big" Haley said as she ran a hand through her son's hair.

Nathan nodded slightly "Pretty soon he'll be getting married and having kids of his own"  
Haley whined softly "don't say that. He, James and Alyssa are my babies, I like it that way. It's perfect"  
Nathan smiled and he kissed her forehead "Nathan, Haley, Ryan, James and Alyssa" he said as they locked eyes

"You're right, it is perfect"

**A/N: So I hope you liked this chapter, only two more left!**

**Please review and let me know what you thought and what you'd like to see in the final two chapters**

**\- Maddie :)**


	34. Happy Birthday to You…and Us

**A/N: I've been gone for a while, I know. I suck. I'm so sorry but I've had trouble writing the last chapters for this story. But I'm back, and I'm working on Chapter 35 for this story (the last chapter!)****  
****So I hope you're all still with me, and if you are ...**

**Enjoy!**

34\. Happy Birthday to You…and Us.

*THREE YEARS LATER* ~ September 9th, 2014.

Haley walked around the large backyard of her family home and watched as her children ran around with their friends. It had been three years since James and Alyssa were born, Her babies were growing up. She leaned against the fence railing of the upper part of the deck and smiled; James was playing around in the sand with Madison and Andre, Alyssa and a now three-and-a-half-years-old Elizabeth Jagielski were sitting with two-year-old Lucy Scott on the picnic table decorating the little basketballs Nathan had bought all the kids.

After Alyssa and James were born, Brooke and Lucas agreed that they didn't want to wait any longer to have a baby. And as luck would have it, six months later she found out she was already pregnant. Lucinda Karen Scott was born on June 18th 2012.

Haley was brought out of her thoughts as she felt a strong pair of arms encircle her waist, and a pair of lips graze her neck.  
"You know, we really shouldn't do this. I'm a married woman" She smirked as the lips pressed harder against the skin of her neck "I don't think my husband would approve"  
She felt him pull back and so she turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. She looked up into those blue eyes as a smirk graced his lips "I don't think my wife would mind too much" Nathan joked

Haley laughed as she looked over Nathan's shoulder to where Ryan was in the pool with Julian gently pushing around the inflatable chair holding Julian and Alex's three month old son Jackson.  
"Our babies are all growing up" She pouted as Nathan kissed her forehead.

"Well, pretty soon we'll have one more to add to the bunch" He smiled  
Haley sighed and rested her head on his chest pulling herself closer to him "You don't know that for sure"  
"Please" Nathan scoffed "They'd be crazy not to give us a baby. We're awesome. And Maddie loved us."  
Haley chuckled "At least you didn't say that in the meeting. We would've sounded so cocky"  
"Don't worry too much baby" Nathan squeezed her waist where his arms lay "We will get our minimum five children like we planned"  
"Remind me why I thought it'd be fun to have to give birth so many times?" she joked

Nathan and Haley had decided that while they enjoyed the stages of being pregnant, and the joy their children brought, that now was a time for them to focus on their children and for Haley to pursue her music career. She had been teaching but she had always wanted to try and record and album. With Peyton's help she was signed to Peyton and Jake's label and was making an album, when she found out about her second pregnancy. So, they had decided to do something else.

Adopt.

Both parents had always agreed that no matter what they wanted to adopt at least one child into their family. They knew that somewhere out there was a child waiting to make a home with them.  
They had started the process a year after James and Alyssa were born as they knew it would take time to get the ball rolling.

Their social worker, Sarah, had called two months ago with a meeting for them with a pregnant teenage girl; Maddie. The interview had gone smoothly, and Maddie had even come over to the house the next week to get a feel of where her child would be living and the environment he or she would be raised in.

Sarah had called them last week and told them that Maddie was leaning towards picking them to adopt her child, but they still didn't want to raise their expectations and hopes too high in case it fell through; they had heard stories about mothers who after giving birth to their children no longer wanted to go through with the adoption process.

They had agreed on an open adoption plan, which meant Maddie would be able to see her child when she was ready to see him or when he asked about his birth parents.  
Haley pulled back from Nathan and smiled "Come on, we should get the cake cut up and served before the kids all go home. There's not enough room in the fridge for the mountain that is their cake" she joked.

"Hey" Brooke said as she entered the nursery that Haley and Nathan had left. She watched as Haley turned around, her hand moving from the side of the crib where she was looking in.  
"What are you doing in here? Your kids are asking for you"  
"Sorry" Haley smiled "I was just reminiscing" she said as she moved away from the crib and to the doorway where Brooke was standing.

"What's on your mind?" Brooke asked, concern evident in her voice.  
"Can I tell you a secret?" Haley asked  
"Of course, you're my best friend Hales" Brooke replied. Haley smiled brightly  
"Nathan and I might be adopting" she shyly admitted  
"What!? Oh my god that's ama-" Brooke started before Haley clamped her hand over her friends mouth.  
"Secret remember!? Jeez Brooke contain your enthusiasm" She chuckled.  
Brooke blushed "I'm sorry, I just really want you to have another baby now"  
Haley kinked an eyebrow at her friend "Why?"

Brooke smiled sheepishly "Can you keep a secret?" she teased "I think I'm pregnant again"  
Haley opened her mouth wide in surprise before hugging Brooke tightly "That's amazing tigger"  
"I took a home test and made an appointment with the doctor to be sure, but I'm late. Like really late" she smiled, tears of joy filling her eyes "So it would be really nice if you would adopt a cute little baby for me so that our children can grow up together, and either be best friends or if one of us has a boy and the other a girl, they could fall in love" she said as they pulled away from their hug.

Haley chuckled "Jeez Brooke, neither of us definitely have a baby and you're already planning their futures"  
"You'll get your baby Haley James. No way is any mother out there going to deny that you and Nathan would be the perfect parents for their child. You're Naley after all" she said as Haley rolled her eyes.

Brooke chuckled as she threw her arm around Haley's shoulder "Come on. Let's get back to our other rugrats" she said as they walked out of the nursery.

Nathan woke, dazed and confused, as his eyes and body registered to the sound he could hear.  
_Ring! Ring!_  
He blindly reached around his nightstand for his phone, sighing in relief when he found it and quickly hit the answer button, ceasing the deafening noise.  
"Hello?" He mumbled sleepily  
"Mr Scott, This is Sarah Jones from the adoption agency. I'm sorry to call so early but something's happened" Sarah spoke as Nathan felt himself fully alert now.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned.  
"Nothing at all. Maddie went into labour tonight, she's given birth to a healthy baby girl" Sarah replied.  
Nathan smiled "That's wonderful, but I'm still a bit confused as to why you called"  
"Because Maddie's made her decision about the adoption" Sarah said as Haley stirred in bed and began to sit up next to Nathan, frowning as she saw the anxious look on Nathan's face.

"And what did she decide?" Nathan asked.  
"Maddie feels that you and Haley are the best people to look after Hope"  
"Hope?" He smiled  
"Yes, that's what she wanted to name her. But we can discuss that when you get here, she's happy to change it but she'd like to discuss with you what her name will be"  
"Of course, that's fine" Nathan replied, still in shock

"Well then we'll see you in Tree Hill hospital tomorrow morning at 10" Sarah said  
"Okay, thank you Miss Jones"  
"No Problem" Sarah replied "Oh, and Nathan? Congratulations"  
Nathan smiled "Thank you so much. We'll see you tomorrow morning" he said before hanging up and putting his phone down on the table and turning around to face an extremely nervous looking Haley.

"What was all that about? Is something wrong?" She asked  
Nathan smiled "Actually, just the opposite. Everything's perfect"  
Haley frowned "Can you explain please?"  
"Maddie went into labour tonight" He said glancing at the clock, reading 3:00 am "Well, last night technically" he said  
"Is everything okay"? Haley asked  
"Yeah, and she made a decision about who she wants to be the parents" Nathan said

Haley's head perked up and she looked at her husband expectantly "No way. Seriously?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Nathan shook his head in confirmation, tears in his eyes as well "We're getting our baby. Hope Scott" He smiled  
"Oh my god" Haley cried as she wrapped her arms around Nathan's neck and kissed him. They pulled apart after a moment, resting their foreheads against one another's  
"Congratulations Mama" Nathan said as Haley chuckled  
"Congratulations to you too Daddy. God I love you Nathan, thank you for giving me such an amazing life" she said

Nathan kissed her once more  
"I love you too"

**A/N: And…Done! This chapter wasn't exactly where I was planning on going but I needed to write something to lead into the last chapter of this story!  
Be on the lookout for it, I will be updating hopefully sometime next week with the final chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read this story and as always PLEASE REVIEW!**

**The more you review, the faster I'll update!**

**Maddie :)**


	35. For Better Or For Worse

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has stayed with me on this journey. Your support has meant so much and has inspired me greatly. This is the last chapter. As always,**

**Enjoy!**

**35\. For Better or For Worse.**

15 years later… *June 12th, 2029*

Haley sat in the front pew of the church, her leg bouncing nervously as she waited for her husband to come back. She looked around the church, checking in on her children. James and Alyssa were both sitting with Elizabeth Jagielski and Isabella Scott a few pews behind them. The 18 year olds twins and 17 year old girl were the best of friends; they had been through everything together growing up and were all going to college together next year since Isabella had skipped a year. They were following their parents footsteps and heading off to Duke.

Hope Madeleine Scott was now 15 years old. She was beautiful; tall, green eyes, caramel brown hair. She looked a lot like her Mother, but she also had some features that most people thought were Nathan and Haley's. Her mother, Maddie, had left Tree Hill six months after Hope's birth due to her mother passing away. She hadn't stayed in contact but had returned when Hope turned 12 years old after Nathan and Haley hire a PI to reach out to her. They wanted their daughter to know that her mother had loved her, and that she gave her up because she wanted her to have a hopeful future; hence why she was given her name. Maddie and Hope had grown close, but Hope had always made sure to assure Nathan and Haley that she was their daughter, and they were her parents as well.

She had grown up and, much to Nathan's over-protective dismay, fallen in love with Brooke and Lucas' son Charlie Scott. They had been dating for almost a year now. Brooke loved to rub it in Haley's face that her prediction all those years ago was right.

"What are you looking at?" Nathan said as he sat down next to her, with six-month old baby Jayson – Jay for short - in his lap.  
Haley smiled at the sight of her husband and grandson, both in matching navy blue tuxes.  
"Our babies are all grown up" Haley said as she reached over and fixed Nathan's crooked tie  
"Only Ryan. We still got time to punish all the other ones" He joked as Haley chuckled.

"And how is your daddy doing?" Haley said in a high-pitched voice as she spoke to her grandson "Is he nervous about marrying mummy?"  
Nathan scoffed "They've been together since they were 18 and have a child together. He's not nervous about marrying the love of his life at 22. Not when they've been made for each other since day one."  
Haley smiled brightly up at Nathan "I can't believe this day is finally here"  
"It's been a long time coming Hales, but they finally got there in the end" Nathan agreed. He looked down at his watch and sighed "I better go get him up on the altar" He said passing Jay to Haley as he walked to the side door of the church.

Haley smiled as she saw her son and husband enter through the side door a few moments later. She waved up at Ryan as he smiled at her. Haley remembered the day she had first met her daughter-in-law.

Marissa had been so bright and cheery, and excited about meeting Haley and Nathan. They had all instantly clicked. Marissa had been warm and loving, and Haley had instantly taken the woman into her arms. She had fallen in love with the girl within a matter of hours and Marissa had become a part of the family.

Haley was brought out of her memories as the wedding march began to play, and Haley turned her head back towards the church entrance and watched as Marissa made her way down the aisle and towards Ryan.

*August 18th, 2029*

Nathan watched as Hope and Charlie sat on the two-person swing in the backyard of his house. The two were cuddled up and Charlie was mumbling something in Hope's ear as she giggled. Nathan smiled as Haley stood next to him at the fence overlooking the backyard  
"I remember back when your eyeballs would pop out of your head at that sight" Haley chuckled as Nathan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled  
"She's happy. That's what matters most"

Haley kissed Nathan's cheek "How did we get so lucky?" she asked as she looked at Elizabeth, James, Isabella and Alyssa all sitting around the pool table chatting and laughing while Jake, Lucas and Julian stood behind them while they fried the burgers for lunch. Brooke, Alex and Peyton were swimming in the pool with Jay and Alex and Julian's 2-year-old son Jude.

"I don't know. Any honestly I never want to question it, I feel so blessed to have all of our friends and family in our lives" Nathan said as he met eyes with his wife.  
"I love you" Haley whispered lovingly "thank you for making me so happy. And for always being there for me"  
"I love you too" Nathan replied as he kissed her, letting their kiss develop a little bit.

The couple broke apart quickly as they heard a loud cough come from beside them. They both turned their heads to see Ryan standing there with a disgusted look on his face.  
"Can you maybe not do that in front of me?" Ryan groaned as Haley and Nathan pulled away. Ryan reached over and grabbed his mother's hand "Do you mind if I steal my mother away for a bit?" He said looking at his dad, who simply smiled and waved his hand in a _go ahead_ motion.

Ryan and Haley sat down on the edge of the bed in Ryan's childhood bedroom. Haley smiled as she placed her hand over Ryan's  
"So what did you want to talk about sweetie?" She asked  
Ryan reached under the bed and pulled out a wrapped up object and handed it to his mum "I wanted to give you this before we left, as a way of saying thank you"  
Haley chuckled as she held the gift in her hand "I can't believe you two. Who waits two months after the wedding to have their honeymoon?"  
"Well we needed someone to watch Jay for more than a month. Thanks for that by the way" He smirked as his mother rolled her eyes.

Haley's smile widened as she opened the wrapping and held a frame with three photos in it. The first one of a pregnant teenage Haley with Nathan and all their friends, the second one was of Haley holding Ryan while she was in the hospital after giving birth to him, and the third one was of Ryan with Haley and Jay last month.

"Thank me for what?" Haley asked as she looked up at her son frowning.  
"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here" Ryan shrugged "I remember the day you sat me down and told me about Troy, and everything you had been through. I remember thinking that things could have been so different had you not wanted to keep me"

"Ryan, it was never a question. I loved you from the moment I knew you existed. Even though you came from such a painful experience, you were still the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you, and I have never regretted you. Ever" She said staring him straight in the eyes.

Ryan nodded in understanding "Thank you mum. I love you" Ryan said hugging Haley  
Haley felt tears prick her eyes "I love you too"

"OK!" Nathan said as he walked into the room, breaking apart the mother and son moment as they both chuckled "Can I have my wife back now?"  
Ryan chuckled softly "Yeah yeah Pops, I'll go find my wife" he smiled as he walked out of the room

Haley smiled as she stood up and walked over to Nathan, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her waist "We raised an amazing son" she said as Nathan smiled.  
"We raised four amazing children. They got it from you" Nathan said  
"Well they got your sporting abilities" Haley joked "We all know I'm inept when it comes to that kind of thing. I can't throw a free-shot to save my life"  
Nathan rolled his eyes "For the love of God Hales, its free-THROW. Free-throw baby" Haley chuckled as she nestled her head in the crook of Nathan's neck.

"Thank you Nathan" Haley said after a few moments of silence "You've been there through everything. For better or for worse, you were always there by my side. I love you so much"  
"I love you too Hales. No matter what happens. For better or worse" Nathan said as he kissed her once more.

**A/N: So, this is the last chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourite, followed and PM'd me about this story! Your support has been amazing and I thank you all for it!  
One last time, please leave me your reviews and let me know what you think.**

**\- Maddie :)**


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